


Raised By Frogs

by CandyCotton1212



Category: Amphibia (Cartoon)
Genre: AU, Amphibia - Freeform, Amphibia AU, F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-14
Updated: 2021-01-07
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:40:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 37,616
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27550921
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CandyCotton1212/pseuds/CandyCotton1212
Summary: An Amphibia AU I made Where Anne,Marcy and Sasha all came to Amphibia when they were young,all at different times, being found by different characters.Anne is found by Hop Pop-who takes her into his family and gives her a loving-yet just a bit dysfunctional -home amongst the frogs of Wartwood.Sasha is captured by the Toads, but after proving that she was fierce and intelligent enough to be a potential warrior,Grime takes her under his wing,trained to be one of the best,fiercest  warriors the Toad Army has ever seen.Marcy is taken in by King Andrias,who adopts her as his own child and makes her his successor, even though she is not accepted by the newts of Newtopia And has no desire to take over the burden of being ruler of all of Amphibia .Years later, as the three girls enter their teens and start to figure out exactly who they are, Marcy runs away from home and the toads plan to take over all of Amphibia, stirring revolutionary attitudes in Wartwood.What  will happen when the three humans cross paths?
Relationships: Anne Boonchuy/Marcy Wu, Sasha Waybright/Marcy Wu
Comments: 29
Kudos: 134





	1. The Rich Kid

**Author's Note:**

> Special Thanks to SapphicAshley on Instagram and Wattpad for helping me write some of the chapters!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thanks to SapphicAshley on Instagram and Wattpad for Co-Writing the chapter with me! Update- 02/03/21-Editing the first couple chapters to make things more readable!

Sasha Waybright. 

The only child of the illustrious Waybright family. 

The Waybrights were near - millionaires,the father of the family being the best plastic surgeon in the USA and the mother being a corporate lawyer. Their jobs made them rich - filthy rich - a mansion, a pool in a big backyard, two ferraris with their own separate garages, their own butlers and maids, and a nanny for their kid. 

Sasha, the kid in question, lived pretty luxuriously. Home schooled,given everything she ever wanted, dressed like a little princess and had every need tended to by her nanny or the numerous servants her parents employed.She was living the life of your average rich kid. 

Yet, despite all this privilege......she lacked the one thing a child her age needed the most…. 

Parents. 

Sure, they were alive and well and provided for her- but not once had they ever been around to raise and love her.

Sure,she had her nanny and the butlers and maids, but none of them really dealt her any genuine affection or approval-they were just there to care for her, make her shut up, and get paid for doing so.

That was it.

Sasha basically spent the first few years of her life without any kind of real affection-just two cold beings that ate dinner with her and an army of people in black and white uniforms who gave her what she wanted and made sure she remained as invisible as a spirit to her parents. 

___________________________________________________________________________ 

Today,on this particular day, Sasha was supposed to be going out somewhere with her mother. 

Her rich, neglectful mother.

Her rich,neglectful mother who didn't even look at Sasha half the time the seven year old was with her.

Sasha was currently in the back seat of her Dad's new car, the chauffeur driving her and her mother—who rode shotgun and was applying blood red lipstick to her lips-into town so that her mother could go buy some more clothes or make up or whatever she wanted at that moment. 

Sasha sat in the backseat,pouting about the lack of attention she'd gotten. Even though she was used to it,sometimes she was extra problematic about it.

The driver stopped, opening the doors for Sasha and her mother as they got out and walked towards a nearby store. It was just some high end department store, seeming like a glimmering jewel amongst the rundown small businesses and junk stores that surrounded it. 

Sasha's mother walked in, Sasha following closely behind her .She was already bored as heck, her mother chatting idly with the perfume counter clerk as Sasha wandered around aimlessly, looking for something that would amuse or entertain her. 

She saw a nearby backroom used for storage and walked into it, wanting to explore it and see if she could find anything interesting.

It was there that she saw a very nice looking, treasure chest shaped box, with three brightly colored gemstones on the lid- one purple, one green, and one blue.

Sasha liked gemstones.She liked anything shiny and pretty,really. 

"Mommy!" She shouted, trying to get her mom's attention.

Her mother didn't even glance at her, continuing to talk with the clerk.

Sasha huffed and ran over to her, tugging on her pants, shouting her name more. 

"Mommy mommy mommy! Mommy!!" 

Her mother finally turned to her and huffed,visibly annoyed.

"What?" She asked, voice sharp with agitation.

"Can you get me something?" The girl asked sweetly.

"What do you want?"Her mother asked, tapping her well-manicured nails against the marble top of the perfume counter. 

"I saw a treasure chest." Sasha said happily,smiling with excitement. 

"Treasure chest?" Her mother asked flatly,raising an eyebrow as the clerk looked at Sasha and let out an "aww!" 

Sasha nodded. "Mhm hmm." 

Sasha's mother sighed. "Well, Where is it?" 

"In that room." Sasha said, pointing at the backroom where she had found the box. 

Sasha's mother walked over,high heels clicking loudly on the shining linoleum floor as she went into the backroom. She saw the box, sitting on a rack that had numerous clearance items on it. She eyed it, then sighed, looking at it with distaste.

"It's hardly a "treasure chest".....the gemstones look fake..." 

“I know but I want it. It looks cool." Sasha said, looking at the pretty purple gemstone on the box’s lid. Purple was her favorite color. 

"I'm not wasting money on that....now, go run along and do something,mommy's busy." 

Sasha’s mother swiftly walked back to the perfume counter,continuing her conversation with the clerk. 

Sasha picked up the box and held it in her hands, tears forming in her eyes. 

"But Mommy.... I-... I really want it." She said, threatening to cry. 

Her mother didn't even look at her,ignoring her once again.

Sasha burst into tears,crying next to her mother.

At this point, it was both her desire for the box and her sorrow and anger that her mother was once again ignoring her that had brought the child to tears.

Her mother was visibly annoyed, looking almost disgusted and angry in response to her own child’s cries for her attention.

"Sasha....go outside and get over yourself. We can't always get what we want." She said coldly. 

Sasha frowned,sniffling.

"Why not? You have more than enough to get it!" 

"Well I'm not wasting money on junk!" 

"It's not junk!" Sasha shouted.

"It is! Now put it back and calm yourself!"

Sasha’s mother looked back at the perfume counter clerk,rolling her eyes.

"Damn kids....am I right?" 

As Sasha's mother and the clerk got back to their conversation,Sasha walked back into the backroom where she'd found the box, and then slowly put her hand on top of it. 

"...I wonder what's inside..." 

She looked over towards her mother. Both she and the clerk both had their backs to her, ignoring the small girl. 

Slowly,Sasha opened the box and, with a flash of light, was transported from the store, and her home, to a faraway, mystical land. 

______________________________________________________________________ 

The girl landed face down in a large patch mud, groaning from the sudden impact.As she sat up, she realized that she was no longer in the store - she was now sitting in some kind of marshy forest,the trees crowding above her and covering both her and the whole forest in a cool green shade. 

"What.... Where am I?" She asked herself, looking around in shock and fear.

The girl was shaking,looking around.

Her mother,the clerk, the box..... 

They were nowhere in sight.

She quickly grew distressed, standing up shakily only to slip on the muddy ground and fall on her back, groaning. 

"M-mommy?!?" She called out,getting back up on shaky little legs. 

She was so lost in her own panic that she failed to hear the heavy footsteps coming from behind her. 

A toad soldier, on his nightly patrol, spotted the human girl, a wave of shock, then curiosity, going through him as he eyed the incredibly strange, yet, relatively harmless looking creature that stood in the middle of the forest, quivering like a leaf during a windstorm. 

He slowly walked up to her, eyeing her with caution. 

"......Hello,little thing....What are you?" He asked her. 

Sasha screamed, jumping back, looking at the giant,warty monster that now towered over her, wearing a suit of armor on his stout body and holding a large sword in his hand. The toad looked just as surprised as she was,not expecting this strange,peach colored creature with a bumpy face and big,scared eyes. 

"What in Frog's Teeth....?." he muttered,standing back,his hand going to his sword.The small creature shook violently, backing up against a tree.The soldier slowly withdrew his hand from his sword,showing that he posed no threat.

"........No need to fear me.........no need at all.......just........do you understand me? What I am saying?" He said slowly, trying to see if the small creature understood his language or could even speak at all. 

"Y-yes..." Sasha replied. "I understand you." 

``......okay....,now, what are you? Where did you come from? Who sent you here?" He asked slowly, kneeling down to her level.

``I don't know how I got here I just... There was a box and I looked inside and I..." Sasha said, panicking.`

`A box?" He was a bit confused by what the creature was trying to say.`

`Y-yeah..." Sasha replied, tears falling from her eyes. 

He raised an eyebrow, looking doubtful.The child wasn't making sense........it was a child,wasn't it? Or was this strange creature just acting small and scared so it could lure him into a trap?He cautiously got closer.

``.......There now.......why don't I take you back to where I live? I'm sure we'll be able to help....""O-ok....." Sasha said crying,with fear in her eyes.He slowly reached a hand out, attempting to be as non threatening as possible. 

Once he felt the child's hand in his, he slowly led her out of the forest. Sasha watched as they made their way out of the forest......and into a barren, wasteland type area surrounded by mountains and dead,twisted vegetation's and roots. She clung to the toad,who eyed her as he led her to the huge,castle-like stone fortress-Toad Tower, headquarters and dwelling place of the great Toad Army. 

As they went inside, Sasha's ears were assaulted by a range of loud noises. 

Yelling,fighting,swearing,war ballads being sung by deep,gravelly voices, cheering......Sasha covered her ears, the toad guard raising an eyebrow. 

The toads that surrounded them were oblivious to the strange new creature,preoccupied with fighting,arm wrestling, or drinking and eating whatever their cook had managed to find and burn for dinner.

Sasha was terrified.

These huge,strange looking monsters terrified her.....and they were armed!

Sasha stood close to the toad who had led her there, and he slowly led her down into a lower part of the tower.She shivered-everything was damp,cold,clammy, and it reeked of mold and damp stone. She found herself in what appeared to be a dungeon or prison of sorts-with chains on the walls,a weird table with numerous weapons on it, and in front of her, she saw a jail cell. 

Before she could say another thing, she was shoved into the cell, falling to her knees as the cell door was slammed shut and locked. 

"Hey!" She yelled,turning to look at the toad.

"I'm going to find Captain Grime.....he will decide what is to be done with you......until then, you stay here.....creature..." He said solemnly. He walked out,Sasha holding onto the cell bars. 

"Hey!HEY! LET ME OUTTA HERE!!" She yelled, her voice resounding against the stone walls.She sniffled, letting herself sink back to her knees. 

She wanted to go home.

She wanted to go home she wanted to go home she wanted to go home she wanted to go ho- 

Her thoughts were interrupted as she heard heavy footsteps coming down the stairs to the cell area. She stood up, wiping her tears on her arm. A huge toad walked in, clad in armor and a dark cloak, one eye glowing yellow and the other a pale,cloudy turquoise-a jagged scar running down from his eyebrow to his chin.

Sasha was terrified.

The toad slowly came forward, eyeing Sasha-Studying this strange new thing that now stood in front of him. 

".......Strange creature......Alric tells me that you know our language." 

".....Yeah.I do."Sasha said. 

The large toad showed no emotion as he studied her. She sat down, legs crossed as she looked at him, trying to remain calm as she faced the otherworldly creature in front of her.

"...How did you come here? Who sent you? What are you?Why did you come here?" He asked slowly, voice low and gravelly, eyeing her and monitoring her every move.While the strange creature looked like a child, he did have to be cautious.

Sasha curled up into a ball, crying harder, not knowing how to answer the toad's question. 

"I-I don't know..." She stuttered. "I don't know!"

Grime huffed.``Can you at least try to answer me?" He narrowed his eyes at the child.

``I- don't know how I got here.... Nobody sent me.... I just want my mommy!" She shouted, crying harder than she ever had in her life. 

Grime sighed frustratedly.The creature seemed to be a child-a young child. Still, children could give information.....wherever this strange creature came from, he wanted to know. 

"Well you must've gotten here somehow.....can't you remember?Where are you from?" 

"Sacramento...." She said softly. "I-its in California...." 

Grime looked at her in confusion. 

"Where is this California place?" He asked

"I-It's.....in.....America..." 

"Well What is America?" Grime asked, getting a bit closer.

``I-It's a country...." She replied fearing the monstrous looking toad.

"Country.......is it a place near Amphibia?"

Sasha grew confused.

"A-Amphibia?" She asked "What's that?..." 

"Here! This land! This is Amphibia!" Grime yelled, motioning around.``So, tell me, where is this "America" in relation to Amphibia?" 

"I-I don't know.... I-I've never heard of Amphibia." 

"Well, now you have.Welcome to Amphibia, creature..." 

He sighed, rubbing his temples.The creature wasn't being very informative.

Then again, how could he expect a child to know such things? Perhaps her strange parents were around and would come looking for her and they could return her to them, so they could return to this "America'' place. 

If not......He would figure out what to do with her. 

Grime sighed,standing up,walking towards the door.

"If we see others of your kind, we'll alert you.....for now, you are to stay here...." He glanced at her, watching as she stood up on shaking legs.

"O-ok..." She said weakly.

Grime walked out,slamming the door, the room lit only by the small window on the wall near Sasha's right. 

Sasha sat against the wall,beginning to cry harder, thinking about her much she missed her mom, and her home.

After an hour or so, a rather large, fat toad soldier walked in, holding a torch and a bowl of some kind of green sludge. 

"Dinner,creature." He grunted. 

Sasha looked up, eyes puffy and pink, dried tears and snot staining her face.The soldier walked over to her and knelt down in front of her, the metal cell bars separating them,a smirk on his face. 

"Aren't you an ugly lil thing?" 

Sasha began to cry again. 

"W-why are you being mean to me?..." She asked sadly. 

"I have no idea what you're talking about." He said, swirling the green soup around in its wooden bowl. 

Sasha put her hands out between the bars, looking up at him.

He smirked."Aww, is something Hungry?" 

"Y-yes...." Sasha said weakly. "Can I please have my food?..." 

"Hm.......Maybe.....but I have yet to have had dinner today, so..." he began to drink the soup down. 

Sasha stared at him.

At first, she felt upset....then it became anger.

A boiling,churning anger.

How dare he deny her food? After she'd just been thrown into this horrible,dark world?!?After everything she'd been put through today?!? She started to heavily breathe.

The toad chuckled, green soup dripping from his mouth.

"Awww.....Are you gonna cry again? Pathetic little beast?"

Sasha looked at him angrily, she felt a rush of anger and adrenaline as she lunged at him, arm going in between the cell bars,punching him in the eye as hard as she could. 

The surprised toad yelped, dropping the bowl, which clattered on the ground, soup spilling everywhere.He put a hand to his now reddened eye,snarling.

"You lil rat...."

He stood up, grabbing a key from his belt and opening the cell door, walking menacingly towards her.

"I oughta break your lil neck for that...."

Sasha didn't hesitate before charging at him,used all of her strength to punch him in the chest,making him fall over onto his back.He groaned,coughing.

How could such a small, seemingly weak creature pack that strong a punch? 

Sasha stood on him, stomping her foot onto his chest.

"You're mean!" She shouted, eyes flashing violet.

"Get off me!" The toad yelled,grabbing her by the arm as he sat up,throwing her off of him, sending her into a wall.He drew his dagger, the blade narrowly missing the left side of her face,growling as he stood over her. 

"You worthless-" 

"HEY!" Grime shouted,throwing the door open.The soldier turned and looked over at him, startled by his sudden entry.

"Captain Grime!" He turned to him,standing tall and saluting.

"The Little beast attacked me, I had to fight back!" 

"It attacked you?" Grime asked,looking at the soldier's eye,which was swelling red with pain, then at the angry young human that stood behind the guard, glaring at him.

The creature hadn't dealt an impressive injury to the soldier,but the fact that the puny creature had enough gall and outright rage to attack the toad and stand up to him even though he was armed intrigued Grime.

A courageous little monster......a courageous little monster with fighting potential.

She could possibly be of use to him, to the toad army......with the right training, perhaps.

A personal project-an experiment-see what he could do with this angry new creature.Grime chuckled and smiled at the angry little girl.

"Well if I'd known it was so dangerous,I'd never have put it in a cage." He said,turning to the soldier. 

"Let it go." He demanded.

"What?!?" He asked, surprised.

"Let it go.Clearly it has some fighting potential." He replied.

".....Are you sure about this, Captain?" The guard looked skeptically at Sasha, who had backed up, fists balled, ready to attack again if needed.

Grime smiled "Go get her a proper meal and some armor, I've never been more sure in my life." He said.The guard saluted and walked out without another word. Sasha was breathing heavily, glaring at Grime with eyes full of rage and fear.Grime bent down,looking into those blazing amethyst eyes."I think you'll be a very valuable asset." He said smiling at her. 

"........Little fire eyed creature......."


	2. The Forgotten Kid

Marcy had no idea how she’d ended up in the strange,swampy world she’d suddenly found herself in. 

The seven year old was terrified,holding onto her caterpillar plush in one arm and using her free hand to grip the strap of her dirty green bookbag.She walked cautiously around, trying to avoid danger.However,her curse of being naturally clumsy had lead her to sustaining multiple injuries since she’d appeared in this strange new land.

Scraped knees,a large gash on her left forearm, a bruise on her forehead,a bloody nose, she’d knocked out one of her front teeth,her clothes,hair,bookbag and caterpillar plushie had grass and mud stains on them, and both her shoes were missing, the girl walking barefoot on the cold, moist dirt ground.She shivered, looking around.

She was surrounded by trees,vines,bushes and foliage, all in differing shades of green.It was hot and moist, and she imagined this was what the Rainforest felt like.The smell of wet earth was overwhelming.She sat down near a tree, Tired and distressed,hugging her caterpillar close.

She didn’t mean to end up here....wherever she was.All they wanted to do was find somewhere warm to stay…. 

Marcy had been happy back home,at least,for the first few years of her young life. Shed had two parents who loved her, a nice big house.She didn’t have many friends-she found it difficult to connect and talk with others,both kids and adults, but that didn’t bother her, because she at least had her parents.They took her to the comic book store, the mall, the zoo, the arcade,the natural history museum, they played games with her and she never once had doubted that she’d been loved. 

But then, things changed. 

Mommy and Daddy started acting less nice towards one another.At night,Marcy could hear yelling coming from downstairs, loud,angry yelling and sometimes crying.Then the fighting and yelling would happen during the day, and afterwards one of them would either go upstairs while the other stormed out of the house, leaving Marcy alone, confused,scared and upset.Then as things got worse they’d forget to cook dinner, so Marcy would end up eating whatever she could find in the fridge or put in the microwave.Sometimes she’d eat junk food.One time her mom caught her eating chips for dinner, and had yelled at her with so much anger in her voice that Marcy had broken down in tears.Her dad then started yelling at her mom, saying that it wasn’t fair of her to let out her anger on Marcy and that it was her own fault that their child was eating junk for dinner, that she was a horrible mother and that as soon as the divorce papers went through he’d be filing for full custody of her. 

Marcy’s heart stopped when she heard “divorce”. 

Her parents were getting a divorce. 

They didn’t love each other anymore.

Why? 

Was it something she did? 

Marcy never did get an answer as to why they’d suddenly began to hate each other.

But within the next month, her parents had split, and now daddy lived in a really small house near the train station about three hours away.He didn’t get custody of her like he’d said,but she’d visit him on the weekends.But it wasn’t the same.He was always sad,and he was always drinking this strange amber colored liquid that came from a big bottle, or he was drinking what he called “grown up soda” from a can.He only wanted to watch TV-although he did take her to the zoo once, but they had to leave after a security guard had yelled at him for having a grown up soda with him.

Things weren’t much better with mommy.

Shed pick her up from school without a word, make her dinner,then go into her room and stay there for the rest of the night-not even bothering to tuck Marcy in or tell her goodnight.Marcy often cried herself to sleep.She was all alone at school-so she had no one to comfort her or help her out during this tough time in her life.

Then one day,she’d come home and her mom hadn’t made any dinner,going right up to her room.Marcy was hungry, so she’d tried to get something out of the fridge.The hinges of the door had been rusted, their care not kept up, so as soon as she opened it, the door fell to the ground, Marcy shrieking as glass jars,eggs and other things smashed the the ground, the floor coated in juices,sauces and other slippery substances. 

The linoleum floor now had a large crack in it, and Marcy was covering near the fridge, shaking.She was waiting for her mother to come out and scream at her for making such a mess, or ask if she was okay. 

But no. 

Nothing. 

She didn’t even hear her mother’s bed creaking to signal she’d gotten up out of it. 

She didn’t care. 

That stung more than any slap or spanking she could’ve given Marcy. It was then that Marcy decided she couldn’t stay. 

She had to leave. 

It wasn’t like her parents would miss her anyway.She grabbed her Caterpillar plushie-the one she’d had since she was one and had considered a prized possession-,along with her beloved DS and DS game cartridges and promptly left the house.Shed try and find someone who could help her-at school they had a lady come in who said she would help them if they ever got into trouble.She said she was from “CPS” whatever that was.Marcy walked down the streets,exiting her neighborhood and entering town.She looked around, wondering if anyone would know how to call the CPS lady.She eventually made her way to a small,junky resale store her mom had liked going to in the past. 

She went inside, and told the old lady at the counter that she needed to call the CPS lady.The Lady had given her a concerned look, then went to her phone,calling the police.After the lady had called the police, she told Marcy to wait in a back storage room.She lead her to it-it was small,cramped,Smelled musty,and full of shelves that were cluttered with random junk.Marcy slowly went in, sitting down on an old chair and waiting,hugging her Caterpillar close.She looked around at the shelves-and then something caught her eye. 

A small,old looking, black and gold music box with images of frogs.

Marcy smiled.She liked frogs.

It was on a lower shelf,about near Marcy’s eye level.She slowly got up, eyeing it, then-out of her own child’s curiosity-opened it, looking inside. 

A flash of light, the sensation of falling, and,before Marcy knew it, she was lying face down in moss covered,damp earth, the sounds of wild animals of all sorts filling her ears. 

Marcy shivered.She wondered if her mom had noticed that she’d gone missing......she wondered if she even cared that she’d gone missing,whisked away to a whole new world by a random magic box.

She began to feel drowsy, the stress and sadness getting the better of the small girl, she took her bookbag off her back and laid down,putting her head on it and hugging her Caterpillar close, letting her heavy eyelids close. 

She was half asleep when she heard footsteps, along with the clinking of metal.She slowly got up, rubbing her eyes.Was someone there? Her question was soon answered as a figure appeared in front of her.

The figure looked human......but the face of the being said otherwise. 

The head of a salamander or newt like creature,with blush pink scales and short pale hair stood atop a slim body covered head to toe in armor, like the knights who killed Dragons in the stories Marcy’s dad used to read to her before bed, although now it seemed as though the dragon WAS the knight.She froze, hoping that the thing didn’t see her. 

The creature....Knight....dragon-knight..........whatever it was....glanced at her,eyes widening and glowing as it saw the strange foreign creature.Marcy froze,slowly reaching for her bookbag to slide it onto her shoulders, the creature still looking at her.

Slowly,Marcy stood up, holding her Caterpillar to her chest,feeling her heart beating faster and faster against the walls of her chest.She began to slowly walk backwards,eyes still on the creature.

As she turned and began running,she heard the sound of metal behind her. 

She ran at full speed,not daring to look behind her as she blinded through the marshy forests.However, her clumsiness and obliviousness to her surroundings soon proved to be her downfall-her foot hit a tree root, and she was soon lying on the muddy ground, groaning. 

She felt something behind her,and before she could turn to look, she was grabbed by the hood of her sweatshirt, screaming in pure fear.She looked up, eyes big as moons as the dragon-knight thing looked down at her,eyes full of curiosity and other things Marcy couldn’t quite read.Marcy turned away,shivering.

Was it going to eat her? Kill her?!? 

”What ARE you?” 

Marcy yelped,surprised that the creature spoke the same language as her.She didn’t have time to respond, as she was held up by the hood of her hoodie, the creature walking back towards where it had came.

Marcy was shivering and shaking, scared beyond belief.She closed her eyes,squeezing her Caterpillar close.Maybe she was just dreaming? That had to be it......any moment now she’d wake up in the resale shop, amongst the shelves of junk.She kept her eyes closed for a good long while, hearing the creature breathing,the sound of moving armor and twigs being snapped underfoot.She then felt another presence with her,and opened her eyes. 

She saw what had to be the largest snail in the entire world-it was the size of a trailer, maybe a little bigger-with shimmery aqua skin and a brindled shell, with what looked like a saddle on its shell.

Before Marcy could register what was happening, she was hoisted up and tossed into the saddle.She let out a small “Ooof!” As she landed on the hard wooden seat, then looked up to see the creature that had captured her sitting next to her, grabbing the snail’s reigns and whipping them, the snail beginning to move.

Marcy was frozen.All of this felt too surreal-her little mind just couldn’t register it all, especially not so fast.She could feel herself shutting down,her vision fading as she passed out in the saddle. 

The creature beside her yelped, wondering if her strange new finding had suddenly died.She grabbed Marcy, holding her up.She could see Marcy’s chest slowly rising and falling, so she was still alive and breathing.

Perhaps it was a stress response?She sighed,letting Marcy sleep next to her.Once they got back to Newtopia, she’d present her strange new finding to King Andrias-and she was sure he’d be very intrigued indeed. 

After a while,Marcy woke up, blinking slowly.Was it all just a dream? A terrible, overly realistic dream? She sat up, hearing collective gasps and exclamations.Her eyes shot open, and she looked around.   
She was currently in the middle of a huge,wide room-with huge stained glass windows that bathed the hard,cold marble floors in colored light.A crowd of creatures-creatures all similar to the one that had captured her.Marcy sat up, hugging her Caterpillar to her chest again, breathing fast as she looked at the rows of eyes staring at her with shock and wonder.Marcy looked away, shaking violently.Looking people in the eyes and being the center of everyone's attention were both things that made Marcy unbelievably uncomfortable-and this discomfort, accompanied by the fear and stress she was already going through, was sending her into a full blown panic.She curled up in on herself, face in her knees, her Caterpillar plushie crushed between her stomach,chest and legs. 

”King Andrias Leviathan, ruling sovereign of all of Amphibia, May I present to you this strange foreign creature that I found while patrolling the valley!I am unsure if it has anything to do with the toads, but it doesn’t seem to pose an outward threat...”A loud female voice called,the vast room amplifying it and making it ring in Marcy’s ears.Marcy then heard footsteps-large,resounding footsteps that made the ground shake a little.Marcy felt herself go ice cold with pure terror.What kind of enormous monster was approaching her? She felt a huge presence above her, and felt the chill of a shadow cover her. 

”My my my,What a funny looking creature!” 

A male voice,loud as a lion’s roar said as Marcy shook violently.There was a huge monster right above her,waiting to do something to her.She knew it.She just knew it.She whimpered, eyes filling with tears.She felt something nudge her shoulder-something big.She slowly and shakily turned her head,eyes wide and leaking tears. 

In front of her stood an absolute Goliath of a creature-A big,blue,bearded frog like creature,decked in armor,a golden crown upon his head.Marcy’s mouth was half open in a silent scream.She was terrified,shaking and whimpering.The creature cocked its head to the side,curious. 

”Oh dear, they seem rather scared........where they like this when you found them, General Yunan?” 

“Yes, I’m guessing it’s in shock from being in our terrain, they aren’t from around here,obviously.” 

”Any idea what they are? Where they came from?” “No sir.....but we can always hand them over to the royal guard for interrogation, maybe the royal scientists for testing?” 

Marcy let out a small scream-Yelp sound.She didn’t want to be tested on-which most likely meant getting poked and prodded and all those kinds of things that you saw in Science Fiction movies. 

“Oh, I don’t think that’ll be necessary.......” The big blue newt looked at her closer, frowning a little. 

”Dear oh dear.......Lady Olivia,will you please escort our guests out? I fear they may be distressing the poor creature further.” “Certainly,Your highness.Everyone out! The King Thanks you for your audience...”. 

A female creature, who looked somewhat like a princess, As Marcy observed her rather fanciful clothing, began ushering out the other creatures, closing the door behind her as they exited the room. 

”General Yunan, Amphibia Thanks you for your discovery.You May now leave.” “Yes Your Highness!” 

The General said,giving him a salute before leaving the room.The colossal king sighed,looking down at Marcy. 

”There now, there’s no need to be afraid of me.” He said calmly, smiling down at the tiny, terrified creature.He sat down, eyeing her with curiosity.”Do you speak my language?” Marcy opened her mouth, but no words could come out no matter how hard she tried to speak.So she slowly nodded her head.”Excellent!” The King said,a bit louder than intended.”Now,What is your name,little one?” 

Marcy tried to speak, somewhat less afraid of the giant stranger. 

”M-M......M......Marcy...W-Wu.......” He smiled,nodding. 

”Marcy Wu,Eh? Well, I am King Andrias Leviathan of Amphibia.Welcome!” 

He slowly reached down, holding his hand out,palm up.Marcy slowly reached out with a trembling hand,placing her hand on the pad of his middle finger.King Andrias chuckled, she was such a small creature-not as minuscule as a tadpole or frog egg-but just barely bigger than his little finger.He slowly and gently shook her hand-Well, it was barely even a shake for him, for he feared that he could seriously injure her if he did anything too quick.Marcy was shaking a bit less-the creature was huge, but he seemed friendly. 

“Where are you from?” Andrias asked.

” Uh.......Earth....?” 

”Earth......Where is Earth?Strange name......how did you get here?”  
”Uh.......uh.....a box.....I went to a store and t-there was a box.....and then I opened it........and I was here.....”

“Hm,.....very interesting......do you have this box with you?”

“No.....” “Hm......I see......is there any other way you can go back? Any way you can contact your family, if you have one?” 

“N-no.....” she sniffled.   
King Andrias sighed.”Well......seeing as you have no way of getting home for now.......and you have nowhere to stay.....you may stay here,under my protection.” 

He smiled at Marcy,who looked up,wiping her eyes.”I.....I can?””Of course! We will try and find a way for you to go home, but till then I’ll see to it that your needs are met.....and if you stay longer than expected,I can provide you with an education.......maybe, if you seem fit enough...and you are old enough.......you may have a position in my court.”

“A position?”

“Yes,you know......like a job, and you’ll work for me and for my kingdom.”

”O-okay!” She said,sitting up,Her Caterpillar still in her arms.Andrias slowly held his hand out.”.....Come,I’ll show you around the castle.” 

Marcy hesitated,then slowly hoisted herself up into his hand, sitting down in his palm.He slowly stood up,Marcy falling onto her back from the sudden motion. 

”Sorry!” Andrias said,letting Marcy sit back up before walking slowly towards the hall that lead from his main hall and throne room to the other parts of the castle.He opened a few doors-showing her the dining hall, a meeting room,The kitchen, a lounge room, a room that was basically a greenhouse,full of numerous plants and flowers.Then he went down into another great hall, who’s walls were lined with painting of richly dressed creatures such as him.He went up a flight of stairs, holding Marcy close to his chest out of caution.He showed her his study, and finally, the guest bedroom-where she would be staying. 

“Feel free to make yourself feel right at at home-“ he looked down, then noticed that the tiny creature has fallen asleep-clutching his beard,snoring softly-probably tired out and worn out from the stress of the day.

”...Oh....” he gave a small smile, then slowly lowered his hand, placing her carefully on the bed, then walking towards the door.

”......Welcome to Amphibia,Marcy....” he said softly, walking out and closing the door.


	3. The Unwanted Kid

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special Thanks to SapphicAshley on Wattpad and Instagram for helping me write this!

For as long as Anne could remember, she had always been unwanted.

Her parents hadn’t wanted her, or maybe they did, but they couldn’t keep her……..She couldn’t remember.

She was only a year old when her parents had left her in front of St Joseph’s Home for Children, leaving her to live out her childhood and possibly her teen years in the faulty foster care system.

During her seven years of living at the home, she’d been unwanted by both the staff and the other children.To the caretakers and staff, she was nothing but a nuisance -- a troublemaker. She was a very hyperactive child-too much energy, they always said.Anne would run around the home or the playground behind the home, occasionally breaking things or getting hurt.She was also very impatient, and angry. 

Oh boy... could she get angry. 

Whenever someone teased her or picked on her, she could get unbelievably angry-to the point of full out getting into fights with other kids.That was probably the main reason why she was unwanted by everyone in the home.She tried to control her anger-but no one gave her help or advice on how to control it. Instead, she was punished by being denied dinner or recess or being kept in a solitary room for a day, and she was always left to her own devices when it came to actually learning to manage her temper.

Despite the fact that she was basically considered nothing but a burden-something everyone was annoyed by and tried to avoid --she tried to stay positive.She did have two friends-the first being Domino, a stray cat that lived near the home that would play with Anne and let her pet and hold her.The other friend was Maggie, another foster kid.Maggie had started being Anne’s friend after seeing her beat up Jamie, an older kid, after he’d thrown a piece of gum into her wild afro of hair-which had lead to Anne getting a huge chunk of her hair cut off by one of the caretakers--who had done a really bad job.Anne had to wear an old beanie hat for a few weeks till her hair had grown back.

Despite Anne ending up punished and getting her hair butchered,Maggie had been impressed, impressed enough that she offered to be Anne’s friend.They got into all kinds of fun and trouble together. Raiding the kitchen for midnight snacks after everyone had gone to bed, seeing who could climb the highest on the trees near the home, playing truth or dare…..truth or dare was their favorite game.In fact, they spent the majority of their days playing it.Their dares ranged from silly and innocent to possibly and genuinely harmful. 

Jumping off the swingset while in mid air, drinking expired milk, drawing on some poor,unsuspecting kid’s face with a sharpie as they slept, dye their hair green using the cheap tempera paints from the art room, smoking a cigarette they’d found on the street,stealing money from a caretaker’s purse…..the possibilities were endless. 

On this particular day-as Anne and Maggie sat on the swings, twisting the old chains so they could spin about, laughing as they spun and swung about, Maggie decided that she wanted to play Truth or Dare yet again.

”Hey Anne,truth or dare?” The redhead asked, stopping her swing.Anne looked up, her unruly chestnut locks obscuring her eyes a bit.

”Dare!!”

Maggie thought for a moment, looking around the playground, then at the home, looking into every window.

”.....You know where the warden’s office is?” 

”Yeeeeeah…” Anne said,eyes narrowing.”What are you thinkin?” 

Maggie smiled wide, the gap between her front teeth visible.

”I dare you to go into the warden’s office and steal something outta there!” 

Anne’s eyes widened.The Warden wasn’t someone anyone at the home ever wanted to mess with.The caretakers you could mess with-the worst you’d get was a slap on the back of the head. 

But the warden…..one wrong move, and she’d make sure you NEVER got adopted or even put up for a foster family,and you’d be stuck in the hell box that was the children's home until you turned 18.

At least,that’s what the older kids and caretakers all said.

Anne really did want a family.She wanted to be with people who wanted her and made her feel wanted.She didn’t want to be an unwanted kid for the rest of her life.She didn’t care if Maggie had dared her, she couldn’t risk the possibility of being an unwanted kid forever. 

”.....Can you…..choose another dare please?” Anne asked quietly.

”Chicken!!” Maggie said loudly,a smirk forming on her freckled little face.

”I am not!!” Anne yelled, gripping the swing chains.

”Then why don’t you take the dare?” Maggie asked, raising an eyebrow as she twisted the swing chains.

”Because……..” she hesitated.”Well…..what would I even steal? And how would we even get in?!?” 

“We get in with this!” Maggie reached into the pocket of her hoodie,pulling out a key.”Spare key.Stole it out of Ms. James’s purse when she wasn’t lookin.As for what you’d steal, steal anything! Anything that’s there!” 

Anne thought for a moment, then sighed.She was scared of what would happen if the warden caught her…….but she didn’t wanna Look like a coward in front of her friend.

”Fine.” She grabbed the key from Maggie’s hand.

”I’ll steal something, but only to prove that I’m not a chicken.” 

Maggie smiled and got off the swing.”Well lets go then!We got till recess ends!” 

Anne jumped off her swing and ran inside,Maggie following her.She got to the door of the Warden’s office, feeling anxious.Maggie got behind her,smirking

.”Chiiiiikeeeeen!Youre a chicken! Cluck cluck cluuuuuck!” She whispered as Anne glared at her,her face going red.

”Am Not!” She yelled at her,Maggie backing up a bit. Anne turned, shoving the key into the lock and unlocking the door, slowly walking inside.Maggie watched from the doorway,waiting to see what Anne chose to steal.

The Warden’s office didn’t have much in it-A big desk,a mint green filing cabinet, a leader chair,a bookshelf that was full of big,heavy books of all sorts.Her desk had a few picture frames on it,and a few papers.....and on one of the shelves of the bookshelf, there was a small, black and gold box that had some sort of design on it.

That looks cool…..Anne thought, reaching up and slowly getting the box down.

”Psst! Recess is almost over, hurry up!” Maggie whispered,looking down the hall to see if anyone was coming.Anne looked down at the box.What if there was something inside? Something small that she could steal, something the Warden wouldn’t notice was gone.

Slowly,Anne opened the box, looking inside.

There was a flash of light, a gust of wind, and, with that,Anne was transported to a whole other world,leaving a dazed and confused Maggie in the doorway of the Warden’s office as the other kids filed into the building from the playground.

The first thing Anne felt was cold water against her skin as she found herself falling into a large muddy puddle, screaming out of surprise.She laid there, in the icy muddy water,trying to register where she was and what had just happened.She felt the box in her hands,being clutched so tightly to her chest she wondered if she could accidentally break it.

"H-Hello? Is anyone here?Hello?" Anne asked, trying to see if there was anyone with her. 

"Where am I?"

She slowly got up, the sound of raindrops falling into the ground and leaves filling her ears.She looked around.She was in a huge forest, and rain was falling from the treetop obscured sky.

Where was she?

She looked down at the box.The box had brought her there.......maybe it could take her back? She knelt down,holding the box in front of her and slowly opening it......

Nothing.

She sighed, looking around at her surroundings. 

Surprisingly, had mixed emotions about being there.  
She didn't like it, she was pretty scared that she was there... but she also didn't hate it.

She slowly got up,walking around, studying everything that her eyes fell upon.Every tree, leaf, rock, flower, every little bug and creature that crawled around the ground or on the trunk of a tree.She’d cower and freeze every time she heard a sudden noise, and wondered if there were any monsters that would try and eat her, but after being sure that there were no big, scary monsters following her, she began to explore the area a bit more without fear or hesitation. 

The rain that had been falling steadily had gotten heavier, Anne shivering and slowing down a bit as pellets of icy cold liquid fell upon her skin.She was soaking wet and icy cold….she needed to find shelter, but didn’t want to leave the forest just yet.

Soon, hours had passed, and Anne was still exploring this strange new place,both scared of and interested in everything. She wondered if maybe she was dreaming-if this magic land was all in her head.

She soon found herself wandering out of the forest and onto a dirt road, the rain falling more steadily now.She suddenly realized just how cold and wet she was,shivering as goosebumps rose on her skin.She really needed to find somewhere to stay,at least till the rain stopped.

She started walking down,looking around as she saw what looked like houses in the distance.She slowly made her way closer to the houses,seeing fences and patches of vegetables near some of the houses.Farms,maybe? Anne hasn’t really seen a farm before.

She got closer,walking through thick fog and rain.She felt the ground raise under her, then realized she was about to walk onto a small bridge.She walked slowly across the bridge, and soon found herself in a small, medieval looking village, with houses made of wood with thick thatch roofs.Some looked like big, stout mushrooms.

"Hello? Anyone here?" The girl called out.The village was seemingly abandoned-no one was outside, she couldn’t see any lights or any indication that anyone lived there.Maybe she’d entered a ghost town.......

”What are you?!?”

Anne turned and then looked down to see a small, round, bright pink creature with a funny looking tail, wearing a pilot’s hat, staring up at her with big,wide eyes.

Anne screamed and jumped back,slipping in some mud and falling onto her back with a loud “OOOF!”

She closed her eyes,breathing heavily.This was all a Dream.....it HAD to be a dream!

"Hey... Hey." The small pink creature said.”I-Im not gonna hurt you!” 

"W-what are you!" Anne shouted back at him, the creature jumping back a bit.  
“I’m....Im Sprig....what are you?” The creature asked.  
He backed away a bit more,cautious,but looking at Anne with curiosity.The strange,bigger creature in front of him didn’t seem very threatening, but Hop Pop always said to be wary of anything he didn’t know.

"A-anne. I'm Anne, I'm a-a human." Anne replied, looking at the creature.  
“Human? What’s that?” Sprig asked,inching closer.

``What do you mean what are humans?" Anne asked. "Are there no humans here?" \

“Not that I know of.......everyone here is a frog! Or a toad, but they only come around here to collect taxes and take away your stuff if you don’t pay your taxes .” He said.

Anne looked at him, sitting up,curious and intrigued.

"Really there's only frogs here?" She asked, growing all the more interested in the world she just discovered.

“Yeah, Frogs,toads,newts,salamanders......But I don’t know any humans.Hop Pop never said anything about them.” He said,studying Anne.

She was so strange looking! Long limbs, an enormous bush of hair,a big bump in the middle of her face........he couldn’t wait to introduce her to Hop Pop!

"That's really cool!" Anne said with excitement in her voice. "Who's Hop Pop?" 

“He's my grandpa,c’mon! I'll take you to my house and you can meet him!”

Sprig began hopping-his legs had yet to come in-into town, turning to look at Anne.  
”Come on!”

Anne happily ran behind the frog, she was starting to love it here already. 

Sprig hopped along happily,eyeing the box in Anne’s hands.

”So what’s in there?” He asked,pointing to the box.

"It's how I got here, I opened it and poof!I ended up here!" Anne explained, not knowing much about it herself.

“Well, if you open it again will it take you back to wherever you’re from?” 

"I've already tried, nothing happens."

“Well that sucks, is it broken or something? I’m sure Hop Pop will know how to fix it!”  
"I hope Hop Pop can fix it, my friends probably miss me." She said, suddenly remembering Maggie and Domino back at home. 

“Don’t worry, I’m sure he’ll know....” Sprig reassured.

They slowly made their way towards a large,somewhat old looking stone house, which stood in front of a pond. A small, neat patch of vegetables stood in front of the house.

”Welcome to my house!” Sprig said happily.

``It looks nice." Anne commented, looking at the house.

“Thanks! Now c’mon!” 

He hopped up to the house,pushing the unlocked door open.

Anne and Sprig entered the house and saw an old, orange-ish frog, sitting on the couch in the living room.

"Hi Hop Pop!" Sprig said.” I have someone I want you to meet!”

The old frog did not respond.He was fast asleep, snoring loudly, an open book resting on his stomach.On the small, low table near him was a basket,which had a small,pale green orb in it, just a bit smaller than Sprig was.

”This is my little sibling,by the way.” Sprig said, hopping over to the egg, gently rubbing it’s smooth,jelly-like surface.

”I can’t wait for them to hatch!” He smiled at the egg, excited to meet his new little brother or sister.

"Should we wake up Hop Pop?" Anne asked ,looking at the snoring old frog.

“Hmmm.....maybe not......do you really need to go home just now, or can you wait?”

Anne thought for a moment, wondering if she’d be in too much trouble if she returned back to the children’s home late.  
"...I can wait a little while ,no rush." Anne said with a smile, feeling that she'd like the frog world she was stuck in, maybe even more than her own world. 

“Cool! Want a snack?” Sprig asked, leading Anne into the kitchen.

"What kind of snack?"

“Well, we got fly cookies! “ he said happily.”Mrs Croaker made us some for us after Hop Pop gave her some of our cabbages.”He got a plate of small,round cookies that had flies baked into them, setting it down on the small stone table they ate their meals at, Anne looking at the cookies with disgust.

"Eww! Is there anything without flies?" Anne asked.

"Try it, you'll love them!" Sprig insisted.  
Anne wrinkled her nose.The cookies looked gross......but she was kinda hungry.....

.“And if you don’t want those, I think We have beetle buns, or leftover fried cricket!”He handed her a plate that had a large,breaded and fried cricket leg and what looked like a hot cross bun-but with beetles sticking out of it.

Anne hesitated, then picked up the bun and bit into it, expecting herself to gag at the taste of it ,but ,to her surprise, it was actually pretty good. 

“So, How is it?” Sprig asked,munching a cookie.

"It's actually much better than I expected." Anne replied.

``Great! Cookie?If you like beetles,you’re sure to love flies!”Spring held one out to her.

Anne took the fly cookie and hesitated to eat it. "Are you sure I will?" She asked.

“Yeah!Trust me!” Spring ate another,crumbs and fly wings coating his mouth.

Anne slowly ate the cookie, chewing slowly. 

“So,How is it?”Sprig asked,looking up at her.

"It's surprisingly good...." Anne replied,swallowing, then taking another bite.

``See told you!”

“Sprig? Sprig? You home boy?” Hop Pop called from the living room, having just woken up from his nap.

"Oh! I'm home Hop Pop!" Sprig shouted.Hop Pop went into the kitchen,rubbing his eyes.”Are you eating the fly cookies? Frog damnit Sprig, I thought I told you not to eat cookies before dinner-“

He opened his eyes and saw Anne,freezing.

He stood completely still, mouth agape, then began yelling.

”WHAT IN TOADNATION IS THAT THING???” He pointed at Anne, his arm trembling as he pointed at the girl, who was startled by the sudden yelling. 

"Oh, this is Anne! She’s a human!I found her outside." Sprig said happily.

“SPRIG KEEP AWAY FROM IT!!IT COULD BE DANGEROUS!!!” 

The old frog slowly tried to walk over to Sprig, eyeing Anne with terror, Anne shrinking back a bit.

"No Hop Pop! It’s okay!She’s friendly!." 

“F-friendly? Boy, I don't care if it’s friendly, get the frog hell away from it! It could be dangerous! It might just be actin nice to lure ya in and eat ya!!” He yelled, getting close to Sprig.

”Just come to Hop Pop.....I’ll keep ya safe...”  
“ Hop Pop she’s not dangerous!”  
"Yeah... I'm friendly…. don't worry." Anne said softly, getting a bit closer to Hop Pop.

“It speaks!” Hop Pop said,jumping back as Sprig bounced over to Anne.

”She hasn’t tried to eat me at all since I first me her,plus she likes Beetle buns!”

Hop Pop was trembling slightly less, but still stared at Anne with fear and suspicion.

”How do we know you aren’t some frog eatin beast?” 

“Hop Pop she's not! If she was she'd have eaten me the moment she saw me, right?” 

Hop Pop breathed slowly, taking a moment to consider this, then looked at the strange,small,gangly looking creature in front of him.

She didn’t seem to pose a threat,nor did she seem like she was going to attack them at any moment…...she sounded and acted like a child…..he sighed,getting closer to her.

”So,you’re a human.Do humans eat frogs?”  
“No…” Anne said.”Well,I don’t.”

Hop Pop looked down at the box in her hands.”What’s in there?” 

Anne looked down, holding it up.”Oh, this is the box that brought me here from my world! I tried to go back but, it won’t let me….”

”We thought you could fix it so she could go back home!” Sprig piped up.

Hop Pop Slowly took the box from Anne,studying it.

”Well, I’m sorry to tell you this, Anne, but I can’t fix this.I don’ even know if I really know what this thing is….” 

Anne’s face fell.

”.....Is there anyone who can?”

“Well not in this town their isn’t,I’m afraid you might be stuck here for a while….” He handed the box back to her.

Anne looked down.What about Maggie? She couldn’t just leave Maggie,or Domino…….but then….Maggie had other friends at the home, and Domino probably had other little girls who petted him and played with him.

Maybe they wouldn’t miss her that much.

She didn’t have parents, and she wasn’t really that happy at the home. She…...really didn’t have much to go home for.She looked up at Hop Pop.

”.....Can I stay here?”

The old Frog’s eyes widened.”Y-you mean here? In our house?”

“CAN SHE?!?” 

Spring bounced up and down excitedly, eyes wide.

”Please Hop Pop!!”

“I won’t cause you any trouble…...I just don’t know where to go……” Anne said, looking down.

”W-Well, I mean, I can’t just throw you out on the streets, but…..Anne the frogs that live here aren’t very…..um…..open minded…...if they see you here they might not react all that well…..and I don’t want anyone gettin hurt…”

“I’ll just stay in the house or in the yard! I promise!” Anne said, getting closer.

”Please…..”

“Please Hop Pop!! She’s my friend!!” Spring said,grabbing onto Hop Pop’s sleeve and looking up big big,wide eyes that begged for the old frog to agree to letting his strange new friend stay.

Hop Pop thought for a bit,looking at the two youngsters, considering every risk and possibility,then let out a long sigh.

”.......As long as you stay in the house,and as long as no one gets eaten…….you can stay….”

Spring bounced high enough to touch the ceiling.

”YAHOOO!” 

”HEY! Careful how high you bounce boy-“ 

The old frog froze as he felt the human child wrap her arms around him.

”Thank you!!!” She said,beaming up at him.

He slowly relaxed,realizing she wasn’t attacking him.

”Well,you’re welcome…..” he gave her a small smile.”C’mon Anne! I’ll show you my room!” Sprog bounced happily upstairs to his room.”C’mon!” 

Anne followed,smiling as she followed her new amphibian friend onto his room, holding the box to her chest.

Hop Pop watched them from downstairs with worry in his eyes, wondering what the future would bring now that he’d just unexpectedly welcomed this funny looking creature into his family.

”....Now what am I gonna do with those kids ...?”


	4. A Warrior In Training

The air was hot and sticky, the red, angry glow of the rising sun glaring upon the valley from behind the mountains, casting everything in a dark pink light.

The Valley was silent, apart from the occasional harsh caw of a bird or the sound of something rumbling down one of the mountains.Had she been back in her world,Sasha would’ve done nothing but complain about the heat and go back to sleep.But after spending two weeks with the toads under Grime’s strict and disciplined training, she had learned that these options no longer existed.

For two weeks straight,She had woken up just before the crack of dawn to go practice on the agility course set up just behind Toad Tower-Grime had said it would be a good way to both wake her up and help her prepare for the more brutal training and lessons that were to come later in the day.Since the day he’d first met the strange and fierce little creature, Grime had decided that he would try and mould her into a warrior-possibly one of the best warriors The Toad Army has ever seen.He stood near a dead tree, watching as the small human ran as fast as she could, jumping across rocks and other obstacles that were put on her path, then jumping up onto and down from a few stacks of hay, then running faster till she got to the pull up beam, jumping and grabbing the rusted metal bar, managing to do three quick pull ups before hoisting herself up and over the bar, running as soon as her feet hit the dusty ground.Shed been progressing relatively quickly-much to Grime’s surprise and delight. 

He waited till the human had finished the course and ran back to him,panting and sweating, blond hair messy and disheveled. 

“You’ve improved......a bit.” He said,eyeing her as she stood up straight.

”Yes sir.” She said, looking him in the eye.He was surprised by how much she’d managed to toughen up-went from a small, sniveling little thing to being stoic and relatively fearless.He had to admit....he was impressed at how quickly she’d learned and grown.

”Now, we’ll get breakfast first, then we begin duel practice.” 

Sasha nodded enthusiastically.She actually liked duel and sword fighting practice-she got to using real swords, and from day one she’d proved to be a very speedy, quick thinking young fighter-thinking of each move on the spot just before her opponent could strike.Shed managed to get a few scars-one across her nose, one on her underarm and a somewhat deep one just below her neck-all due to misaims and slip ups.Overall, though, Sasha was proving to be a very good young future warrior. 

She jogged back to the tower,Grime watching her as he walked slowly behind her.Sasha went into the tower, the soldiers all up and sitting at the long, rotted wooden tables and benches, eating some kind of lumpy oatmeal with chunks of half cooked cricket meat and flies in it to add protein.Sasha wasn’t used to the taste of the food-it was either bland or downright abysmal-but she’d forced herself to eat it up.It may have been some of the worst stuff she’d ever tasted in her life, but a belly full of watery cricket and unwashed mushroom stew was better than a belly full of nothing.

Sasha got her bowl of bug meat infused slop and sat down on a bench next to a female toad soldier.She raised the bowl to her mouth and gulped down her horrid tasting breakfast without a word. 

“Hungry, huh?” The toad asked, eyeing the little human.

Sasha put her bowl down, wiping her mouth with her arm and turning towards her, eyes stone cold and her face emotionless.The older female toad raised an eyebrow.For a kid, she wasn’t very kid-like.She acted like a little adult-didn’t show much emotion, followed orders to a T, constantly keeping a straight face.A bit unsettling, but then again, not all kids could be happy and expressive, she guessed. 

“Y’know, I ain’t too hungry.Why don’t you have my breakfast? You’re a growing girl, you’ll need the extra nutrition.” 

She pushed her bowl of slightly cold breakfast toward the girl, watching to see her reaction.Sasha stared right at the toad as she took the bowl and gulped its contents without hesitation, setting the bowl down and wiping her mouth with her arm yet again.

The toad let out a chuckle.”By Frog,aren’t you a strange kid?”

Sasha said nothing.

”Hey, why don’t you talk to me kiddo?” 

“My name’s Sasha.” The girl said emotionlessly.

”I know that.Do you know who I am?”

“No.”  
“Well,I’m Braddock.Nice to meet ya.”  
The toad held her hand out.Sasha hesitated a little,then took it, shaking her hand as she looked up at her.She had the strangest eyes, Braddock thought, they were the color of belladonna,the purple flower that was used as a potent poison,sometimes used for torture due to its venom and deadly effects. 

“So, how’ve you been holding up here?” 

Sasha took a few minutes to consider the question.She really didn’t know how well she was doing.Shed been forced to put away her self pity and distress so she could survive in the military boot camp that was Toad Tower. A part of her still longed to go home, to run back to her mom and be back in the comfort and familiarity of her world.  
But she didn’t know how that was going to happen.

So, she had to do what she had to do to survive this living nightmare-whether it be stomaching disgusting gruel, running and jumping across objects on an agility course, or facing possible death at the hands of an inexperienced toad soldier with a sword.

”......I’m holding up alright.....” she said quietly,turning away.

Braddock sighed.”Hey, I know we don’t know each other very well, but........you’re a kid, and kids need people to talk to or come to if they ever run into trouble.So if anything happens,you just come and tell me,’kay?” 

Sasha said nothing, looking down at the empty bowls in front of her.

”SOLDIERS!” Grime yelled.

Everyone stood up and saluted the captain.

”Bog!Fens!”

A red colored toad and a green haired toad walked up to him, saluting once more.

”Sir yes sir!” 

“You take Alric, Mire, Muskeg,Damon and Braddock and head down to Wartwood for Tax collection.”

“Will do sir!”Bog said,nodding towards the other soldiers that were to go with him as they walked towards him,then walked out of the tower with him without a word.

Grime turned to the remaining soldiers.”The rest of you-The village of Greenwater in the West has decided that they will no longer pay their taxes.....I think you all know what do do with them.” 

A collective “Yes sir!” Came from the soldiers.Sasha remained silent, eyes fixed on Grime.

”Now go, carry out what must be done.”

The soldiers saluted, then began filing out,Sasha walking with them as they went to go prepare for their mission.

However, she was soon brought to a sudden halt as she felt a large hand on her shoulder.

”Those orders do not pertain to you.” Grime said.

Sasha turned to look at him,raising an eyebrow.”So what do I do?” 

“Training.”

“MORE training??” Sasha sounded outraged.”I’ve already done a lot! Why can’t I go with them?” 

“Sasha, just because you’ve spent a mere two weeks training on an agility course and practicing sword fighting does NOT make you suitable enough to go out on raids yet.”

Sasha huffed, crossing her arms.”Then what do I need to do to become suitable enough to go on raids?”

“More training-we need to teach you all the skills a warrior needs.”

“Ugh, fiiiiine!” Sasha said,pouting as she followed Grime out in front of Toad Tower, watching as the warriors gathered and checked their armor and weapons.For a moment, she considered sneaking away to join them while Grime’s back was turned, but as soon as she turned the other way Grime turned and looked at her.

”Where do you think you’re going?” 

Sasha huffed.”Nowhere.” 

She turned back,walking with him to a nearby clearing.

”Let me guess,sword fighting? Mountain climbing? Weight training?” She listed their usual practices-all of which she had been close to mastering.

”Actually,I think it’s time I taught you hand to hand combat.”

Sasha’s eyes widened.”Hand to hand?”

”Without weapons.”  
He went into the clearing,motioning for her to come forward.Sasha slowly walked over to him, the feeling of creeping insecurity and fear growing stronger with each step closer.Sasha may have been an impressive little fighter, but without a weapon she wasn’t exactly able to defend herself.In comparison to Grime, she was far smaller, and he was stronger too.Chances were she was going to get her butt beaten pretty badly - depending on how tough Grime was with her.

As she stood her ground a few inches away,Grime got into fighting stance, hands balled into fists as he kept his eyes on his little opponent.

”Come at me.” 

Sasha immediately charged forward, staring straight into his eyes as she balled her hands into fists, raising one to aim a punch at his bad eye.Before her fist could even made contact with the pale aqua orb, Grime’s hand shot up and clamped around her arm.She was immediately thrown back, hitting the back of her head on a nearby tree.

”AAAGH! HEY!” She yelled,rubbing the back of her head.

”Never go directly for the face.Its an obvious hit, and an easily blockable one.You need to try and throw your opponent off guard.” The old toad said sternly.

Sasha growled.She charged at him again,but instead of going straight for the face, she lunged down and punched Grime in the gut.

He barely reacted,grabbing her arm and once again throwing her to the ground.She yelped,then got back up, growling, and charged at him again.She lunged at his stomach, punching him again-and when he went to go grab her arm, she grabbed his hand, digging her long,uncut nails into his hand and using all her strength to force his hand away.When the toad used his free hand to grab her by the hair, she swung to the side, letting go of his hand and punching him in his bad eye with the as she turned.

The toad jumped back, letting go of the child, who turned to face him,violet eyes bright with energy.As the toad held his sore,aching eye, he couldn’t help but be impressed at how fast the small creature’s skills seemed to be improving.

”Better........but there is still much to learn,Little fire eyed creature.....” he said.

Sasha didn’t react, still staring at him,fists balled.Grime slowly grabbed his sword from it’s sheath on his belt.

”Now.....That’s enough hand to hand for today...Go and get your sword, how about we do some sword practice?” 

__________________________________________________________________________ 

The next morning, Grime was awoken by the sensation of something shoving his back.

”Grime! Grime! Hellooooo, GRIME!!” 

Sasha huffed,crossing her arms as the old toad got up, groaning.

”How long have you been up? The sky’s still dark.” He was surprised the child was up so early.

”Doesn’t matter.We should begin the hand to hand combat training.” 

Grime raised an eyebrow.The girl had gotten him up, maybe an hour earlier than he usually got up, just to begin hand to hand combat training? He sighed annoyedly.

”Can it not wait?” 

“No! If we do it now, we can do it till the others get up and we have to do the other training! We can do more of it and I can get better at it!” 

The Toad sat up in bed, grumbling as he rubbed his eyes.

”Well fine.But just know that you aren’t going to get better within just a day.” He said, obviously annoyed and tired.He got up out of bed, wearing his usual red shirt and black sweatpants he wore when he wasn’t in armor or when he went to bed.He looked over at Sasha, who stood by the door, tapping her foot impatiently.The girl was wearing an oversized short sleeved black shirt that one of the toads had given her to sleep in-the bottom of the shirt tied up in a bulky knot around her waist-along with some baggy,oversized black sweatpants.For a moment, Grime found it almost funny.....here he was, a grown old toad, being commanded by a small child.

He grabbed a torch from the wall, then found a match and lit it, walking out the door without a ward, hearing Sasha’s footsteps behind him.They eventually got outside and to the clearing, the early morning air cold as ice against their skin.

Grime got into the clearing,cracking his neck and knuckles as Sasha got into her stance, first balled.Shed the rest of yesterday and almost all night planning how she could finally take the toad down....and she hoped her hours of planning wouldn’t go to waste.

Grime took his stance,and after a moment’s hesitation, Sasha charged.

She did what she’d done yesterday, punching him the gut and using her free hand to grab his raised arm,only to have Grime grab her arm with his free hand and throw her to the side, flipping so that she could feel their backs almost touch.

It was then that her plans came into play. 

Before he could react, she jumped up and threw her arm around his neck, grabbing her wrist with her other hand so that her arms tightened and constricted around the toad’s thick neck.Grime let out a surprised grunt, grabbing one of the girl’s skinny yet surprisingly strong arms in an attempt to free himself, stumbling back.Sasha then let go of her arm, swinging her free arm up and bringing her first down onto Grime’s bad eye.

The toad yelled, letting go of Sasha, who let go of his neck and then ran back as Grime tried to catch his breath,rubbing his eye.Just as he turned to look at Sasha, he was met with a hard punch to the nose, jumping back as the girl kept punching him in the face and chest, too quick for him to even react.She then roundhouse kicked him in the chest, knocking the air out of him and sending him to the ground.

The old toad lay on the cold,hard dirt ground, breathing slowly, his bad eye aching and closed.He opened his mouth to speak, only to have his breath forced out of him again as the girl charged at him, then jumped and body slammed him.

How could something so small knock his breath out like that?!?! 

Sasha was breathing just as heavily as he was, glaring down at him.

”NOW can I start going on raids with the others?!?” She asked.

Normally, Grime would’ve been highly bitter at such an embarrassing defeat.

Captain Grime, Leader of the Toad Army, who was said to have no mercy or soul, had just lost to a seven year old little girl.

Normally, he’d growl and yell.

Normally, he’d put the child back in her place and make sure anyone who’d seen his defeat never saw anything ever again.

Normally, he’d be drawing his sword and yelling curses into the sky, angered and humiliated.

Instead.....he started laughing.

”What are you laughing at?!?” Sasha yelled, clearly annoyed that the toad seemed to be laughing at her request.

Grime laughed harder, his chest and stomach aching from the hits he’d taken and from how hard he was laughing.To think that this little beast had managed to defeat him......even he found that he couldn’t help but laugh.

”HEY! Gonna answer me?” Sasha yelled, pouting as the old toad looked up at her, wiping tears of laughter from his eyes.

“Y-Yes I suppose so......W-Well done,Little Fire Eyed creature....” he said,the laughter still in his voice.

Sasha got off of him, arms crossed as Grime slowly got up, stumbling a bit as he made his way back to toad tower,the small girl following him.

He smiled at her, still surprised she’d managed to beat him.She was getting stronger,more skilled, maybe even smarter.He felt something....odd.A strange feeling, a strange, somewhat strong feeling as he looked at the child.He couldn’t really tell what it was. 

It....It couldn’t be pride,could it? It couldn’t be that he was proud to see how far the child had come since she’d first been brought to the tower?

Nah.....couldn’t be.....

Could it?


	5. Adjusting To A New(t) Life

Two weeks had passed,and Marcy was still stuck in Amphibia.

King Andrias had sent his soldiers to find the box she’d told him about, and to see if they could find any other entrances that could’ve led back to Marcy’s world-and they had come back with nothing.

Marcy had been quite upset at first- for the first five days, she’d cry herself to sleep thinking about home, about her parents, about her life back home.

But then she remembered how distant her parents had been with her-wondering if they even loved her. That was the whole reason for why she’d ended up in Amphibia in the first place-because they didn’t care, to the point where she felt that she had to run away from home.Plus she didn’t have any friends that would miss her back at home, no family members that would really bother to look for her. She doubted she’d be missed-and she found herself missing home less and less.

King Andrias had been very understanding and generous-allowing her to stay in the castle, keeping her well fed and ensuring that the food she was served was edible for her. He let her go into the royal library and read some of the many books they had, explore the castle,and he even provided her with some new clothes. He’d even started taking her out into the city-which she now knew was called Newtopia-inhabited by newts and a few salamanders-all of whom acted and looked very similarly to humans, much like Andrias.

However, She didn’t much like going into town.

The hustle and bustle could overstimulate her at times-plus there were quite a lot of things for her to trip over and fall into, her clumsiness hindering her from walking anywhere without getting into an accident or causing a minor scene.Whenever she walked out into the crowded streets, the newts always looked at her and stared, like she was some scary wild animal that was wandering around town, posing a threat to anyone who came near her.Some people even ran away whenever she came near.

It didn’t exactly make her feel welcome.

Still, she was grateful she’d ended up with Andrias-she didn’t know what would’ve happened had General Yunan hadn’t found her and brought her to him.

She’d also become acquainted with Lady Olivia-Andrias’s royal advisor. Lady Olivia was rather.......reserved.She didn’t show much emotion, and was always very formal about everything.But, she was polite enough to Marcy, so she seemed okay.

Marcy was currently in her room, leaning on her windowsill as she looked out of the window, looking down upon the pearlescent city.It was beautiful, a fantasy world crafted from seashells, coral and marble,a place she imagined mermaids and water nymphs living in......but not her.

She felt detached from it.She knew she didn’t belong here.But she couldn’t help but be there.She sighed,closing her eyes.

Was she going to be here for the rest of her life? She wondered.

How would she survive with the newts? How would things be different or the same? How- 

Her wonderings were interrupted by her bedroom door opening.

”Miss Wu, Dinner is served.” Lady Olivia announced from the doorway.

Marcy looked towards her, nodding.”Okay.”

She walked out,following Lady Olivia to the dining hall, where King Andrias sat in his seat at the far end of the table, hungrily sinking his teeth into a large roasted cricket leg.Marcy scrunched her nose.She never could get used to the idea of eating bugs-she’d attempted to eat some cricket meat for lunch on her second day at the castle, and it had made her sick to her stomach for the rest of the day- so from then on King Andrias made sure that the royal chefs prepared food that was more agreeable for her-mostly vegetables and fruits and some grains, occasionally some fish.

Marcy sat down in a large chair next to Andrias,a waiter coming out and placing a bowl of fried rice with numerous vegetables stirred into it in front of her.

”Is this the “fried rice” you told the chef about,Marcy?” Andrias asked,his mouth full of cricket meat.

Marcy nodded and picked up a fork, taking a small bite.It wasn’t half bad.

She ate slowly, Andrias wiping his mouth before turning to her.

”Marcy........since you’ve been here for a few weeks.......and since I did promise to provide you an education........I’ve decided that tomorrow,you will be attending our local school.....” 

Marcy looked up, grains of fried rice stuck around her mouth.”School?” 

“Yes! The Newtopia public elementary-I believe you’ll be in the first grade? You’ll be around other newtopians, about your age, and I’m certain it’ll help you fit in if you start socializing and making some friends! Plus the teachers will be able to educate you more on our history, culture, holidays.....” 

Marcy gulped.Socializing and making friends were both things she wasn’t very good at.

At all.

Even from a young age,Marcy was always alone.She couldn’t quite communicate with others, and things like starting conversations,looking people in the eye and listening to prolonged conversations were all very difficult for her.Whenever she tried talking about her own interests, she tended to go on and on about them, so the person she was talking to either walked away or would tell her to stop talking or shut up.Sometimes when she got excited she’d unintentionally flap her hands-she didn’t really realize she was doing it, but others would and would tell her to stop or back away from her like they were suddenly afraid of her.

But she didn’t tell Andrias-she didn’t want to disappoint him-he was obviously trying his best to help her out and ensure she had a good life in Amphibia, and the school was worth a shot,right? 

”Yeah......I guess it’ll be cool...” 

”Oh it’ll be more than just that,I’m sure!” Andrias said,taking another large bite of cricket leg.

Marcy sighed,picking at her rice.She'd give it a shot, for King Andrias.

Who knows, maybe she’d get along better with newts better than she did human kids back home.........she could only hope. 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Marcy ran through the palace halls like her life depended on it, tears and blood flying off her face as she struggled to breathe, crying as she ran blindly through the long hallways,scraped knees burning and stinging.

The Human girl’s first day of school had NOT gone as planned.

Not at all.

Not in the least.

She’d started the day by tripping on her own shoe laces and bruising her elbow on the way into school- which was normal for her- then walked into school and was gawked at by her newt classmates as she went to sit down in her assigned seat in class.

Everyone stared at her,some even glared at her.Even the teacher looked at her as if she were some wild animal that had wandered into her classroom.Marcy felt uncomfortable the entire time.

Then came recess.

As soon as they’d been let out, Marcy had immediately ran towards the swings on the school playground, only to be stopped by a rather tall newt boy.

”You don’t belong here.Get out.” He said, sounding agitated and defensive.

Marcy froze.She didn’t know how to respond. She’d always been awful at communicating,and right now,as other newt kids surrounded her, she couldn’t help but feel absolutely terrified.

”Uh.......uh...” 

”Can’t you talk, Thing?!?” The newt boy growled.

”What are you anyway? You’re all weird and rubbery!” One kid reached out and pinched her arm rather hard,Marcy yelping in pain.

”OW! That hurt me!”

Some kids let out a few “Ooohs” while others giggled.

”Where’s your tail?”

Some kid lifted her skirt, Marcy turning and smacking his hand away.The kid flinched.

”Eeeww! It touched me!” He yelled.

Marcy flinched, moving back, only for another newt kid to shove her back, then another kid shoved her, then another kid, and soon Marcy was on the ground, being poked, prodded,her hair pulled at,kicked,scratched and hit.

Eventually the bell rang, and the students all went into the school......except Marcy.

Marcy laid there,bloodied,shivering and crying.

After a while, she slowly got up, then started running, practically flying out of the schoolyard and into the busy streets of Newtopia, bumping into people who yelled at her or glared at her as she ran blindly through the streets, her tears blurring her vision and practically blinding her.She eventually made it to the palace, where she was now, sore and scared.

Marcy soon bumped into someone-sending the devastated child onto the ground,sobbing louder.

”What in the name of frog?!? Child, you’re supposed to be in school-What in the world happened to you??You’re all cut up and filthy!Oh for Frog’s sake!”

Marcy looked up, the blurred figure of lady Olivia standing before her, hands on her hips.

Marcy could only choke out a sob in response, shaking as Lady Olivia sighed and called some servants over.

”Run her a bath, make it hot,and fetch some clean clothes......oh, if King Andrias saw you now......saw the state of you! I’ll certainly be contacting the school about this....” she said, both concerned and agitated.

Marcy could barely stand,shaking as a servant picked her up and got her into the bathroom.After a few minutes of struggling to get her clothes off and getting into the colossal sinkhole that was the bathtub, Marcy was near the edge of the bath,sobbing softly, head in her arms as she held onto the side of the tub.

A few servants came by and washed her hair, one forcing her to look up as they cleaned her face up.After being scrubbed and soaked and having a few bandages applied, she was lifted out, dried off, and put into her apple green, short sleeved shirt and green pajama pants, being escorted to her room.She immediately got into bed, hugging her caterpillar plushie to her face,squeezing it till the stuffing was almost busting out of it.She buried her face in the fabric, struggling to breathe.She was too exhausted to cry, so she just breathed,letting the tears just flow out of her eyes like rivers.

She heard the door open, then suddenly heard a loud thud and felt the ground shake slightly.She looked up and saw King Andrias sitting next to her bed,smiling sympathetically.

She immediately jumped up, hugging his arm as Andrias sighed.

”I heard that your first day at school was less than pleasant...”

Marcy nodded,hugging his arm tighter, her thin arms not even close to meeting around his tree trunk of an arm.

”Hey there, we all have bad days......this day is just a bad day, tomorrow will be much, much better! I promise!” 

Marcy looked up, eyes still leaking tears.”NO! I DON'T WANNA GO BACK!!” She cried,gripping his arm tighter.

He sighed.”Now Marcy, if you are going to be staying here you’ll need a proper education.....” 

“But not there please!!” The child shook like a leaf in a hurricane.

”But I don’t know where else to put you! Unless you were to get a tutor, but a public school would help you get acquainted with the citizens....” 

“Nooo......” she whined softly, sniffling.

Andrias sighed.”Well, the other children may be a bit......standoffish.....but once they get used to you they’ll warm up to you.....it’s the same with the citizens of Newtopia! All you need to do is spend time with them and gain their trust!”

Marcy sniffled, Andrias slowly and gently using the tip of his finger to wipe her tears away.

”There now.....no need to be upset,everything will soon be better...”

Marcy sighed,trying to believe that the old newt.

”......Okay…...King Andrias.....” She said quietly, letting go of his arm.

”Cheer up now! Why, when I was a young newt I got bullied all the time, And i still managed to make some friends and succeed in the academic world....”

At least you were another newt. Marcy thought, looking down as she hugged her aching knees to her chest.

She remembered getting bullied by some of the kids at school back in the human world, but it was never had bad as it was here.She just hoped King Andrias would be right about school, about her making friends and fitting in eventually.

The next day, when she managed to drag her little self back to school......he proved to be wrong.

The moment she set foot on the school grounds, she was bombarded with insults,taunts and people throwing paper balls and small rocks at her.She didn’t even make it into the building before turning back and running back to the castle, immediately running to King Andrias and hugging the colossal newt’s leg, hyperventilating.

”Y-you s-s-said it’d b-be b-b-better but it wasn’t!! Y-You said....”

“I know, I’m sorry.....” The king said, looking down at the small human.He rested his head on his hand, looking somewhat disappointed.

”Well.....I suppose Lady Olivia could look into taking over with your education......although I do wonder how we can assimilate you culture wise.....” 

Marcy didn’t care about assimilating.She just sank down, sitting on the floor with her head in her arms.

Andrias looked down, then slowly reached down, opening his hand.

Marcy slowly got up and hoisted herself up on his hand,sitting in his palm and he held her up.

”Look at me......things will be alright....just keep your head up, listen to Lady Olivia, and then we’ll figure out getting you acquainted with the newts later.....sound reasonable?” 

Marcy nodded, leaning back against his fingers a bit.

He smiled, then set her down.

”Run along now,I have some business to attend to.....” 

She nodded, running off to her room.She felt tired, despite having only gotten up an hour before.

Hopefully things would get better........

Hopefully........


	6. Wanted At Last

The past two weeks had gone by relatively fast for the Plantar family-which now included Anne, the strange new creature that had walked into their lives, and into their hearts.

Anne still thought about home,about Maggie and Domino, but she was also intrigued by her new home, wanting to learn as much as she could about it and see as much of it as she could see.

She and Sprig - who had now grown legs,shed his tadpole tail and was starting to look like an actual frog - were thick as thieves, absolutely inseparable.They spent every moment of every day together, playing games,sneaking snacks,jumping around the farm, swimming in the pond behind them,pranking Hop Pop,taking care of Bessie,the Plantar’s snail, and using Sprig’s slingshot to shoot pebbles and rotten produce at random, unsuspecting frogs from the window of Sprig’s room-which Anne now shared with him. 

While Hop Pop had been highly suspicious of the weird looking creature at first, his suspicions soon dissipated after the first day or so, seeing how she and Sprig got along and played together.He also considered that, since she was just a bit older than Sprig, and seemed to be a strong little thing,she could help out on the farm.

As long as no one saw her and started a panic, they’d be fine.

But the issue of Anne not being seen was getting a bit serious.

Anne was very energetic and easily bored, as most children her age were, and being confined to the house and farm was wearing her out. She needed to go out more,do more things, see more things, otherwise she’d go absolutely insane.The girl was already getting stir crazy from doing the same things for two weeks straight.

For as much as Hop Pop would’ve loved to take her and Sprig into town, maybe go fishing, maybe visit Stumpy’s for dinner......he just feared how the other frogs would react.

Would they try and hurt Anne? Hurt all of them? Run them all out of town? Who knew!

The mere thought of taking Anne out into town gave him overwhelming anxiety.

But...really, how long could he hide her? 

Hop Pop looked down at his lukewarm mug of tea, sighing, distress and frustration evident in his eyes.

”Hey Hop Pop! Look what I caught!!”

The old frog jumped, turning to see Anne holding a wriggling little fish in her right hand, smiling wide.She was absolutely soaked, reeking of pond water, and her face,swimsuit, hands,legs and feet were all splattered in mud.

”Holy mother of Frog girl! What did you do?” He asked in a semi-scolding tone, eyeing the muddy footprints that now covered his floor.

”Sprig and I were gonna go fishin, but we couldn’t find the fishin rods, so we thought we’d just use our hands instead!”

“Well how'd you get all muddy?” 

“My fishie got out of my hand when I went up for air and got in a mud puddle, I had to go in and grab him!” 

Hop Pop sighed, pinching his temple.

”Uuuugh....Anne I suggest you go put the fish back in the pond before he dies from lack of water.” 

Anne looked at the fish, which was now flapping around more slowly, it’s eyes a bit glassy.

”Oh! Sorry Mr Fish!” 

Anne ran back out, leaving another trail of muddy footprints in the house.

Hop Pop shook his head, then turned to look at the frog egg, which was wrapped in a blanket and resting in it’s basket on the kitchen table.

”I do hope you ain’t as troublesome as those two kids are… ”He said softly, looking at it, his gaze softening.

It’d be hatching any day now, any moment of any day....

He heard a knock at the front door, and immediately panic flooded his body.He’d gone two weeks without any visitors, and now that he suddenly had one he didn’t know what he’d do, especially considering Anne was around.

He looked around.Anne and Sprig were still playing outside, and maybe as long as they stayed outside, out of sight, the visitor wouldn’t see them.

He slowly walked over to the door, opening it.

He didn’t see anyone outside....

”Hey Mr Plantar!”

Hop Pop looked down to see Ivy Sundew,Sprig’s friend since he was just a newly hatched tadpole, a young yellow frog who, just like Sprig, had recently shed her tadpole tail and had grown her legs.She smiled wide, her wild orange hair obscuring her big eyes.

”O-oh! Hello Ivy! What brings you here?” Hop Pop asked, trying to keep his voice from shaking and giving away his panic.

“Oh, I just wanted to see if Sprig wanted to come out and play today! It’s been forever since I saw him last!” 

“Hey Ivy!” 

Hop Pop jumped, seeing a pond water soaked Sprig behind him, holding a large fish in his small,twiggy arms, struggling to keep ahold of it as it flapped about.

”Hey Sprig!!”

Ivy barged in, Hop Pop stuttering.

Oh Shit, now she was gonna see Anne!

“Uh-Ivy-“ Hop Pop began.

”C’mon Ivy! I have someone I want you to meet!” 

Sprig took Ivy by the hand and ran outside,Hop Pop letting out a terrified yelp.

”NONOOHNO!!!” He yelled,running after the two young frogs.

But it was too late.

Ivy stood in front of Anne,who smiled at her, her face still covered in splotches of mud.

”Hi!” Anne said, smiling and waving at her.

Ivy looked at her with wide eyes, then smiled wide with excitement.

”What are you?!?” 

“A human!” 

“What’s that?” 

The two began chatting,Sprig chasing after his fish, which had slipped out of his arms and was flopping about on the slippery, muddy ground.

Hop Pop was really beginning to panic,sweating heavily.Now that Ivy had met Anne, she was going to tell everyone! He began to think, watching the three kids.

He could always ask Ivy to keep it a secret, tell her that they could get in trouble if she told anyone.....

”Hoppadiah?” 

Hop Pop turned, gasping as he saw Felicia,Ivy’s mother, standing behind him.

”Terribly sorry to barge in, but Ivy ran over here and I suspect it was to avoid her chores...” 

Felicia said,smiling cordially at the old frog, oblivious to the look of terror and panic on his sweaty face.

”Uh-uh-uh....” Hop Pop struggled to speak.

Dear Frog this couldn’t get any worse…

”Hey mom! Come meet Anne! She’s a human!”

Ivy ran in,holding Anne’s hand,the human girl smiling at Felicia.

”Hi Ivy’s mom!” 

Felicia took one look at the little creature holding her daughter’s hand...then proceeded to shriek like a banshee.  
``OH MY FROG!! IVY GET AWAY FROM THAT BEAST!”  
Ivy looked surprised and confused,Anne immediately jumping back, looking scared and confused.

``Mom it’s okay, she’s not a beast,she’s a human-“ 

Felicia grabbed Ivy and began running,screaming as she ran into town.

”BEAST! BEAST! SOMEONE GET THE CONSTABLE! ANYONE! THERES A MONSTER AT THE PLANTARS HOUSE!!” 

Hop Pop was now officially going into a full out panic attack.

Oh dear Frog! Oh dear sweet fucking Frog!!! The whole damn town knew now!! 

He was hyperventilating, looking over at Anne and Sprig, who both had scared, confused looks on their faces.

”Hop Pop, Why was Ms Sundew screaming? Why was she scared?” Spring asked, Hop Pop struggling to both find words and breathe.

``W-Well Sprig, um....I’m....I’m afraid.....Anne you need to hide right now!!” 

He grew scared for her safety, not knowing what the townsfolk were gonna do to her.

”THERE! THERE IT IS!!” 

Hop Pop whipped around,seeing what had to be the whole town crowding his front doorway, gawking and pointing at Anne, who was now backing up against the wall in fear.

Why was everyone pointing at her and looking at her like she was a monster? What had she done??? 

Hop Pop was struggling, looking at Anne,then at the townspeople.

``What is it?”

“Think it eats frogs?” 

“Maybe it’s got claws and teeth!” 

“Hoppadiah, are you and Sprig okay?!?” 

The Constable suddenly smooshed his way through the crowd,holding a large wire net.

``Step aside Mr Plantar! We’ll get the thing outta your house!” 

He started walking towards Anne, holding the net up.Sprig ran in front of him, arms open in defense.

``Don’t hurt her!! She hasn’t hurt anyone!She's my friend!!!” Sprig said, standing in front of the larger frog, who shoved the young frog aside.

``Out of the way boy! You get yourself somewhere safe while I take on this beast.” 

He stared down at Anne, who was looking up at him, azure eyes filled to the brim with fear.

What did she do? What did she do now?Why did everyone hate her?!? 

Why didn’t anyone want her around? 

Just as the constable raised the net,Hop Pop bolted in front of Anne, glaring up at the constable, eyes full of a rage possessed only by a parent trying desperately to defend their young.

”YOU AINT LAYIN A HAND ON THIS GIRL,OR ANY OF MY CHILDREN FOR THAT MATTER!YOU GET THE FROG HELL AWAY FROM HER!!” He roared,the constable jumping back in surprise as the old frog stood his ground, Sprig running up and standing next to him,arms crossed.Ivy broke away from her mother’s grasp and got in front of Anne with them, staring angrily at the townsfolk.

”Anne hasn’t done anything wrong! She’s never tried to hurt me, or Hop Pop, or my little sibling, or Ivy! So why are you all trying to hurt her?!?” Sprig asked the crowd, looking at each and every one of them as they began to think over the question they’d been asked.

”Well,what If she’s a danger to us?” 

“She’s not! She’s been with us for two weeks now and has never tried to hurt any of us!!” Sprig said.

The townspeople looked at Hop Pop, who had calmed down a bit and caught his breath.He looked up at the town,then sighed.

”Sprig.....he’s right.Anne isn’t a threat.Shes a little girl, a little girl from another world, who somehow got stuck here with no way back....she’s just scared,lost, she needed shelter.....but really,she’s harmless, I’ve been takin care of her for two weeks now and she’s proved to be a very kind, innocent child.”

“Plus she likes beetle buns!” Sprig piped up,Hop Pop giving him a slight smile.

”Look, all I’m tryna say is that she’s got nowhere to go, and she’s been fine stayin with me. She ain’t dangerous,and she’s a good friend for my grandson.Im takin full responsibility of her, and I’ll make sure that she doesn’t bother any of you while she’s here. Just please, don’t hurt her.....she ain’t done nothin to anybody and she doesn’t want to do anything to anybody.”

The townspeople slowly looked at each other and nodded,slowly going back to their homes.Felicia went over to Ivy, taking her hand and rushing out, Ivy giving a small wave to Sprig and Anne as she was dragged out.

The constable gave one last glance at Anne, then looked at Hop Pop.

”.....I hope you mean what you’re sayin,Plantar.”

He then walked out, shutting the door behind him.

Hop Pop breathed in, then have a sigh of relief.

Thank Frog.....no one got hurt.....

”Well Anne, looks like you won’t have to be a secret anymore-“ 

He turned to see the girl curled up, face buried in her knees as she shook violently, sobbing hard.

”W-What d-did I d-d-do t-to....Why d-did.........I....” 

The poor girl was obviously pretty badly shaken from the whole experience, as would anyone be.

Sprig sat by her, rubbing her back.

”..Its okay Anne, no one’s gonna hurt you,not on my watch!” He said, trying to comfort his friend.

Hop Pop walked over, sitting down in front of Anne and gently grabbing her shoulders.She looked up, eyes streaming, sniffling.

”H-Hop Pop w-What’d I-“ 

“You didn’t do anything sweetheart, it’s alright.....They were just,shocked to see you......but no one wants to hurt ya, you haven’t done anything......we’re gonna make sure you’re safe,Anne,I promise.....” 

Anne slowly wrapped her arms around him, Hop Pop hugging back, patting her back as Sprig hugged her around her waist.

”Ssssh......it’s okay now.....no one has to be scared anymore......ssssh....”  
__________________________________________. 

The next day,Hop Pop found himself waking up on the couch, Anne and Sprig fast asleep next to him.

He smiled,ruffling Anne’s hair, then Sprig’s,and got up, cracking his back as he stretched out.

He checked the frog egg in it’s basket, making sure it was safe, then he went into the kitchen, only to find that they had nothing to eat for breakfast.

They could always pick something out of the garden, but with two, soon to be three, little mouths to feed, he couldn’t spare a piece of produce that could be sold to help feed them. He looked around for his satchel, finding it and then finding the bag of coins he kept inside it, making sure he had enough to buy a few things.He started walking to the front door,hearing Sprig yawn.

”Hop Pop?Where Are you going?” 

“To get us some food,Sprig.”

“Can we come with you?” 

Hop Pop raised an eyebrow.”Well,Anne has yet to wake up-“ 

Anne got up, stretching.”Mmmmm....morning Hop Pop...” 

“Morning Anne! Hop Pop’s gonna go out into town and grab us some food! Wanna come with?” 

Anne looked at Hop Pop, hesitating.

The townsfolk hadn’t exactly seemed very friendly yesterday.....if she went into town....would they try and hurt her again? 

“Don’t worry about the townspeople, They won’t hurt you! Plus me and Hop Pop will protect you, right Hop Pop?” 

Sprig and Anne both looked up at Hop Pop, who nodded.

”Now Anne, if you don’t wanna come with us, that's okay too...” 

“I’ll come with you....” she said softly. 

“Well then, you two go get dressed, I’ll wait for ya.” 

He went over and slowly picked up the frog egg, holding it to his chest.Anne got up, still in her oversized nightshirt, her hair tangled and frizzy.Sprig hopped up to his room, changing out of his nightshirt and putting on his his usual pilot hat - he never went anywhere without the hat- and put it on along with his usual pants and vest.Anne went in after Sprig got out, throwing on the same hoodie she’d been wearing when she first got transported to Amphibia over her nightshirt, then slipped on her yellow sneakers and walked downstairs, giving Hop Pop a small smile as he opened the door for her and Sprig.

It was a relatively cool morning, the other frogs just getting up out of bed or opening their stands and businesses.As Hop Pop and the two kids walked into town, the other frogs stared at them, their eyes directed at Anne in particular, who clung to Hop Pop as they got further into town. 

“Hoppediah?” An old female voice called.

An old,hunched,wrinkled old frog whose skin was the color of a dead violet slowly made her way over to them, eyeing Sprig as he hopped in front of Anne protectively.

”Well good mornin Mrs Croaker! What can I do for ya?” Hop Pop asked cheerfully.He saw that the old frog was carrying a small plate of beetle buns.

”Well, I made some of these to give to-“ 

“Beetle buns! Thanks Mrs Croaker!” Sprig said, happily reaching for one-only to receive a brisk smack on the hand from Mrs. Croaker’s cane.

”OW!”

He pulled back, rubbing his hand.

”They aren’t for you,boy, they’re for this one.” 

Mrs Croaker looked over at Anne, who was hiding behind Hop Pop.She held the plate out to her.

”Since I heard you like my beetle buns so much, I thought I’d make you some, see them as a “welcome to the neighborhood “ offering.”

Anne slowly reached out and took the plate, holding it close as she got closer to the old frog lady, who smiled at her.

”Well that’s very kind of ya Mrs Croaker!” Hop Pop said,smiling.He felt much more reassured about Anne’s safety.

”T-Thank you...Mrs Croaker...” Anne said, giving her a small smile.

A few other frogs came out, greeting Hop Pop good morning and slowly approaching Anne to wish her good morning as well.

”Hey Guys!!”

Ivy hopped over, smiling wide.”What you got?” She pointed to the plate of buns in Anne’s hands.

”Beetle buns! Here...” 

Anne gave her one, then gave Sprig one as well, the pink frog practically inhaling the thing.

Anne laughed.”Sprig did you even chew it?”

“Nope!” 

“You guys wanna go do somethin?” Ivy asked, taking a bite of her beetle bun.

Anne looked over at Hop Pop, who nodded.”

You kids go ahead, I’ll find ya once the shopping’s done.” 

Anne smiled, handing him the plate, then hugging him tight.

”Thanks Hop Pop!” 

The orange frog smiled as he watched her and her two frog friends run off, chattering about something Ivy had brought up.Anne was smiling wider than she had in her whole life, happier than she’d ever been.

Running with her two new friends, seeing Hop Pop watch over her protectively, seeing the other frogs slowly come to her and seem less and less afraid of her....It made her feel like she’d been accepted, finally accepted.

She felt wanted.

Finally, for the first time in her life....she was wanted.


	7. Mantis Slayer

A year had gone by, and it had gone by faster than lightning.

Sasha was now eight years old, and already one of the strongest, most fearless, most skilled and most ruthless warriors in the toad army.

After months of Grime’s training and teachings, she’d grown stronger, quicker, sharper, and all the more violent. The girl had once almost killed another soldier during battle practice, and would have succeeded had she not been stopped by Braddock and Alric.She was definitely a fearsome little thing- many of the soldiers would back away from her whenever she came near, as if she would attack them at any moment. Others, like Braddock, simply viewed her as a small, angry child who didn’t quite grasp what she was doing.

Grime, on the other hand, didn’t care whether or not his little fire eyed creature knew exactly what she was doing.All he really cared about was that she’d succeeded in becoming one of the best fighters he’d ever known.

He was proud.....proud of himself for training her and proud of how far she’s come and how strong she’d become.

He could only wait and see just how much stronger she’d get as she grew up.

She’d been going on raids with the soldiers-mostly to the towns and small villages in the South. Usually, all Sasha had to do was just show her face to scare the frogs, salamanders or other toads that inhabited the villages they terrorized out of their wits-but if the other soldiers began brawling with particularly stubborn and resistant citizens or simply began fighting or attacking citizens for the thrill of it,she’d immediately join in, thirsty for both blood and the approval and attention of her fellow soldiers.

She hadn’t taken any lives.... yet.....but she’d left some very serious injuries and scars on those who dared to challenge her or simply stand in her way.She herself had accumulated a few scars-but she saw each of them as if they were a medal or badge-a symbol of her achievements and victories.

She carried both her scars and her sword with pride, knowing damn well that she was probably the best soldier the army had. 

Currently, she and a group of nine other toads were walking back to Toad Tower, after a long, successful day of raiding the small salamander village of Ditchberg, which had been located just east of Toad Tower, about five miles away.The salamanders hadn’t paid their taxes for quite a while, so Sasha and the soldiers were carrying quite a hefty amount of loot back with them- furniture, rugs,farm equipment, clothing,lamps, lanterns, bushels and crates of crops, jars and jugs of food and drinks of all sorts, Mire was holding up an entire smoked cricket in his grubby hands, and Braddock and Bog were riding a cart drawn by two snails-both the snails and the cart having been confiscated from their previous owner.

A few villagers had tried to fight back and get their possessions back-Sasha had been allowed to put them all back in their places.

She had done just that, using a sharp tongue and even sharper sword to get the troublesome salamanders to submit to the soldier’s orders.

One particularly outraged salamander had tried to attack her, but she’d dealt with them rather quickly.....Gaining both a cut on her cheek and a fresh splatter of blood on her sword. 

Sasha had a smile on her face, eyes smoldering with pride and satisfaction as she looked down at the dried blood on her sword-which had quite a few old blood stains on it.She knew she’d have to clean it soon.....but she wanted to keep the reminders of her victories there for her to see for just a little while longer, at least until they began to get thick and crusty and really start to hinder her sword’s sharpness and ability to cut through things.

The soldiers were chatting with one other, one toad was playing a tune on a stolen pan flute, the flute’s shrill whistling mixing with the other soldier’s banter and occasional yells or laughs.Sasha remained silent, examining a small dagger she’d gotten off one of the salamanders she’d fought.The short blade was newly sharpened, but she’d need a new handle made for it-the wooden one it had now was a bit molded and had a large crack in it.Sasha shook her head-how could someone care for their weapons so poorly?

The group of soldiers were halfway home, walking through the forest of dead and almost dead trees that lead to Toad Tower, when they heard a screech - a loud, blood curdling screech-resound through the forest.

They all jumped, looking around rapidly, trying to find the source of the terrifying sound.

The sound of multiple heavy footsteps coming from behind them soon revealed to them the source of the screech---a praying mantis.

A giant praying mantis, bloody red, tattered wings flapping, it’s menacing, angry eyes looking right at the group of warriors.

They all froze.Praying mantises were common beasts in Amphibia-but giant ones were rare and,compared to their smaller green relatives, were INCREDIBLY dangerous to all Amphibians. 

The warriors began to draw their weapons-they could take the beast on! It was ten of them against one of it, they could take it!

However, as they set down their loot and drew their swords,axes and maces......another heavy set of steps was heard from behind them.

They turned to see another great red mantis towering above them, emitting a low growl of aggression. A few soldiers began to quiver and shake, their fight or flight senses telling them to get the fuck out of dodge.The others stood their ground.They could still take on two! Five take one mantis, five take the other......

Just as they all began to regain confidence, a third red mantis, a bit bigger than the other two, wandered in, it’s front legs rising up as it prepared to attack.

With that, the toad army proceeded to break out into a series of screams and curses and started running as fast they could, trying to avoid the shrieking mantises as they swung at their tiny prey with large, strong front legs with sharp spines underneath that were ready to impale any toad or other small being that they came into contact with. 

Sasha felt adrenaline flood her body as she ran as fast as she could along with the other toads.She could feel her heart thumping against her chest, almost as if it were trying to burst out.She looked behind her, seeing the beasts following them a few feet away and hearing their screeches and yowls behind them.She stared ahead, picking up speed and breathing in and out of her mouth, desperate for air.She then realized that, in their fear and panic, They’d dropped all of their loot - too focused on fleeing the monstrous bugs to remember to grab their things. 

Damnit! Grime was NOT going to be pleased.....

Grime. 

Sasha suddenly halted,the world suddenly becoming still as she thought about the toad captain and how he’d reacted to their actions. 

Failing to bring back their loot, running away.......

They were warriors, warriors damnit! They should be charging at the beasts, killing them and bringing their mutilated bodies back with them along with their stolen goods!

Instead, they were all running like cowards.....including her.

Her,Sasha Waybright, the youngest and most skilled warrior in the toad army, the one Grime held in the highest respect.....running away like a pathetic coward.......

Grime would be ashamed of her. 

She felt a wave of shame, trembling a bit.Then, as she heard the roar of the Mantises behind her, she felt her shame turn into determination.

No,she was NOT going to run away!! She was a warrior, and damn her to frog hell if she didn’t prove it!!

She turned and ran towards the mantises, screaming as she ripped her sword out of it’s sheath, clutching the dagger she’d stolen as she charged at one of the mantises like an angry bull.

The creature looked down at her, screeching as it brought one of it’s front legs down. Sasha dodged it just before it came down on her, the spines on it’s arm sinking into the damp ground. As the creature tried to pull it’s arm out from the ground,Sasha jumped on it’s arm, shoving her sword deep into it, yellowish blood oozing up out from where the sword penetrated. 

The creature squealed in pain, ripping it’s arm out from the ground, Sasha holding onto it tightly as it pulled its arm close to it’s face, eyes glaring at her.She then pulled the sword out and jumped onto the animal’s face, shoving the yellow coated sword into it’s eye, another scream coming from it’s mouth. 

She then took the dagger and plunged it deep into it’s scalp, pulling herself up onto it’s head and pulling her sword out of it’s eye, swiftly bringing it up, then swinging it down hard at the creature’s neck, pressing the side of the blade into the softest area of the creature’s throat and applying pressure as she dragged it across it’s neck, yellowish blood spouting from it’s neck.

The animal let out a screech, which then turned into gargling as the creature slowly stumbled and fell to the ground, Sasha holding onto it’s head as it came crashing down onto the ground. 

She was breathing heavily, heart pounding in her ears.She looked up, just as another mantis was about to bring it’s spined arm down upon her.

She grabbed her sword and swung upward, the blade piercing through the mantis’s arm between two spines, Sasha barely avoiding getting stabbed by them.The creature let out a blood - curdling screech, Sasha immediately looping one arm around one spine, going up as the beast lifted it’s arm. It began shaking it’s arm up and down in an attempt to get Sasha off. Sasha clenched her teeth, looping her arm around the blade of her sword, grabbing the dagger from her other hand, then swinging her arm up, digging the dagger under the spine, loud screeching filling her ears as she felt hot mantis blood spill down onto her arm, threatening to make the spine slippery and make her slide off and fall to the ground.

The mantis eventually brought it’s arm down and threw the girl to the ground, Sasha grunting as she felt her back come into contact with the ground.

She quickly got up, dagger and sword both coated in sticky yellow blood.She glared at the creature, which took another swing at her, only to have her swing at it and slice the tip of it’s arm off, the beast screeching in agony as it’s blood spilling onto the ground, Sasha charging at it and digging her sword into it’s underside, gutting the beast, jumping back as it’s gooey innards spilled out, the beast slowly swaying back and forth before finally falling.

Not long after the creature fell to the ground, it’s final companion- the biggest one of the three, came up behind her, it’s head immediately going down, mouth wide open.

Sasha braced herself, one eye shut as the beast’s open jaws came down upon her.

As it tried to close it’s mouth around her, she dug her sword into the roof of it’s mouth, the blade going through it’s mouth and head, and stabbing the bottom jaw just under it’s tongue.The beast threw it’s head back, it’s mouth being forced open by the angry, adrenaline pumped child that now stood in it’s mouth, using all her strength to push it’s jaws open as she thought of what to do next.

Acting quickly, she pulled the dagger out of it’s bottom jaw and stabbed one of the beast’s eyes, jumping out of it’s mouth and onto it’s head, pulling her sword from the creature’s head as it screeched louder than before. She dug her sword into it’s other eye, the creature stumbling around in blind pain.

Sasha smiled wide as she took both her dagger and sword out of it’s eyes and placed them both on the animal’s throat, slitting it, watching as yellow blood spilled and spurted out like a waterfall.

The best thrashed around, Sasha digging her sword and dagger back into it’s eyes and holding on tight as it slowed down and finally collapsed against a rotted tree, both the tree and the now dead mantis falling to the ground with a loud thud.

Sasha breathed heavily, still grasping her weapons in her hands.

She was splattered with sticky, stinking, yellow mantis blood, and both her sword and dagger would need to be thoroughly cleaned along with her armor......but that was of least concern.

All the girl could think about was that she’d just single handedly killed three red mantises.

She slowly sat up, then, after a few minutes threw her head back and began to laugh-a laugh of pure joy and victory, a laugh that resounded and echoed throughout the forest.

She couldn’t wait to tell Grime. 

_________________________________________________________________________

The rest of the group of toads were almost at the tower, and, noticing that the beasts were no longer pursuing them, had stopped to catch their breaths. Braddock breathed heavily as she counted the soldiers to make sure no toad was left behind.

”Bog.......Mire......Chara......Mire.....Damien......Sasha....Wait.....Sasha?”

Braddock looked around frantically, the tiny human was nowhere to be seen! 

“...Oh frog,OH MY FUCKING FROG SASHA!!” 

The other toads began to look around, then panic as they came to the terrible realization that their human soldier was gone.

”Oh frog, oh FROG!! EVERYONE GO BACK!! WE NEED TO LOOK FOR SASHA!!! “ Braddock yelled, freaking out as the other toads scrambled, panicked and terrified 

“Oh dear frog please let that child be alive....If anything’s happened Grime’ll-“

“I’LL WHAT!!?”

Everyone jumped,Captain Grime standing in front of them, glaring angrily.

”Care to explain just what the frog hell is going on here?” He asked at Braddock, his voice full of menace and the promise of potential harm.

Braddock’s breathing had gotten faster, the female toad sweating profusely out of fear. 

”W-well, W-we got ambushed by three red Mantises and....uh...” 

“SASHA GOT LEFT BEHIND WITH THE MANTISES!!” Mire screamed,obviously panicking.

Grime’s eyes widened.

Sasha.....left behind.....with three red mantises......

”YOU FUCKING IMBECILES!!” Grime roared, ripping his sword from his belt as Braddock cowered.

”EVERYONE GO BACK!! YOU BETTER HOPE SHES ALIVE, AND IF SHE'S NOT I’LL MAKE SURE YOU ALL WISH YOU WERE DEAD!!” 

The toads began sprinting back in the direction from which they came, Grime running in front of them all, trying not to show just how terrified he was.

Oh dear Frog! Frog knows what’s happened to that child!!  
Oh dear frog if she’s dead.....NO! 

Sasha may have been small, she may have seemed like easy prey for a red mantis, but she was also one of the most skilled fighters he’d ever trained. 

She’d put up a fight without a doubt, and she’d be able to fend them off ........but Grime still couldn’t help but feel cold dread and worry, the mental image of the child circled by three red mantises made him break out into a cold sweat.

They soon got close to the area where they’d first encountered the monsters, and first thing Grime saw were the three bloodied corpses of the red mantises.....all of which had been decapitated.

He then saw Sasha, who had stacked the three heads atop each other so that they resembled a totem pole. She turned, seeing Grime and the other warriors, and smiled wide,looking Grime in the eye, her eyes shining with joy and hope that she’d receive his approval and praise.

Grime’s mouth was agape, his eyes wide, staring at the scene before him. 

Hed known that Sasha was strong and fearsome, but this......this exceeded his expectations. 

This girl, this eight year old child, who was just barely as tall as Grime, had just single handedly slaughtered three full grown red praying mantises.....and seemed to have obtained no injuries.

He was absolutely stunned.

Absolutely amazed.

And he was prouder than he’d ever felt in his life.

He beamed, chuckling as he turned to his soldiers, who were all gawking at the scene that lay before them, mouths open and eyes wide.

”YOU LOT! GO GET SOME CARTS TO CARRY THE MANTISES BACK TO THE TOWER AND TELL THE COOK THAT THERE'S TO BE A FEAST TONIGHT! WE GOT THREE WHOLE MANTISES THAT'LL FEED US ALL FOR AT LEAST A MONTH!!” He yelled, his voice full of pride. 

The soldiers slowly retreated, running back to Toad Tower. Grime then turned to Sasha, who watched as the other toads ran off.She slowly sank down, the adrenaline draining from her body, feeling suddenly very exhausted.

However, the adrenaline came rushing back for a brief moment as she felt two strong arms wrap around her and throw her up into the air, then catch her and squeeze her tight.

”WHAT THE FROG HELL?!?” She yelled as Grime laughed, practically crushing the girl in his arms.

”DO YOU HAVE ANY HOW ASTOUNDING IT IS THAT YOU DID ALL THAT?!” He asked, smiling a wide,toothy smile at the girl as he set her down.

“Yeah! I mean, of course it was! you didn’t say I was one of your best soldiers cuz of nothing, did you?” She asked, raising an eyebrow, clearly enjoying bragging about her achievement.

He chuckled, ruffling her already unbelievably messy hair.”You Are Correct about that, Little Fire Eyed Creature .......You are an exceptional soldier....”

It was unusual of him to be giving one of his soldiers such respect and praise, highly unusual, actually.But what could be say? He was a proud father. 

Wait-Father?? 

NO!! He meant Captain! A proud captain and teacher.

The girl was but another soldier to him, and nothing more! 

It wasn’t like he’d grown attached to her and developed a paternal affection or anything like that......

He cleared his throat, trying to control himself and act more dignified as he saw some soldiers arrive with tarantula drawn carts.

”Oh yeah! Grime we got a bunch of loot from Ditchburg, but we ended up leaving it all behind.....” Sasha said, looking behind her.

“No bother, we’ll just grab it all along with the mantises.” He said, watching as the other toads worked together to heave the heavy mantis corpses onto the wagons.

”THAT WAS INCREDIBLE KID!!”

Braddock ran over, staring at Sasha was amazement.The other toads began to crowd around her, bombarding her with both questions and praise.

``How’d you kill them?”

“Which one did you take on first?”

“You’re incredible Sasha!!”

“SASHA THE MANTIS SLAYER!!” Alric yelled.

”SASHA THE MANTIS SLAYER! SA-SHA THE MANTIS SLAYER! SA-SHA THE MANTIS SLAYER!!” They all chanted, Sasha smiling with pure unadulterated joy as she accepted her new title.

She ran over to the stack of mantis head’s she’d made, grabbing one of the heads and holding it up over her own.

”THAT'S RIGHT!! I'M SASHA THE MANTIS SLAYER! ONE OF THE BEST WARRIORS THE TOAD ARMY WILL EVER HAVE!” 

She began running back to the tower, carrying the mantis head triumphantly above her head as the others followed, carrying back the mantis bodies. 

A few others stayed behind, going to go collect the loot they’d left behind.

Grime just stood there, watching Sasha run, seeing the smile on her face. 

He’d succeeded in raising her to be a great warrior......and he had no doubts that she would grow to be greater. Maybe even better than he was.... only time would tell.

“...I’m proud of you.......My little fire eyed creature....”


	8. A Future Chosen

A year had passed since 7 - now 8 year old Marcy Wu had been transported into the strange land of Amphibia, and had been generously taken in by King Andrias, and things had been......somewhat better than they had been before.

Since attending the Newtopian Public School had been a complete disaster, she’d been getting home schooled by Lady Olivia, who was a very stern and often very critical teacher, but Marcy proved to be a good student, paying utmost attention to Lady Olivia’s teachings and doing all the work she’d been assigned.

Marcy excelled in academics, proving herself to be especially gifted in math , science and history. She actually loved history and science -- she found both topics fascinating, and was always asking Lady Olivia if they could go to the outskirts of Newtopia or the aquarium so that she could actually see some wildlife and plants that were native to Amphibia and learn more about them.Andrias was impressed that a girl as young as her had such an advanced level of learning, and was pleased that she’d taken an interest in Amphibian history and the biology of the land.

However, education seemed to be the only thing Marcy was good at.

When it came to interacting with the Newtopians, she failed pretty miserably. She had a hard time looking them in the eye and didn’t know how to start or keep a conversation-unless it was about the chapters of Amphibian history she was particularly interested in or if it was about Newtopian wildlife --plus her clumsy and oblivious nature constantly put her at risk of creating an unwanted scene or messing something up.....like the time she’d leaned on a farmer’s stand only to have it all collapse, causing her to fall on and crush all the fruits and vegetables that had been kept underneath the stand.

As a result, Marcy was almost afraid to leave the castle-staying in her room or in the castle library-- where her lessons were usually held-reading every book she could get her tiny human hands on. She also played games on her DS or wandered around outside, trying to see if she could discover any new plants, animals or fungi.The only friends she seemed to have were a few plants Andrias had gifted her so that she wouldn’t be too lonely in the castle...but apart from the plants, Marcy had no friends.

She was virtually all alone.

She was currently in the library, reading an enormous book that was about some old Newtopian Queen, when Lady Olivia barged in.

”The King requests your presence.Now.” The aqua newt said. 

Marcy sighed,closing the book with a loud “thud!” and putting it back on the shelf she’s gotten it from before walking out and up towards King Andrias’s throne room, tripping on the carpets that lined the halls a few times, almost breaking a few vases and knocking a painting down in an attempt to catch herself.

The old newt smiled as she walked in,clearing his throat.

”Marcy.”

“King Andrias.” She gave a small bow.

”You know you don’t need to bow before me.” He said with a small chuckle.Marcy nodded,straightening up,arms behind her back.

There was silence for a few moments,then Andrias spoke.

”Marcy, do you know what a successor is?” 

Marcy looked up,nodding.

”Someone who takes over your occupation after you die or give it up.”

“Very good! And do you know who can be someone’s successor?” 

“Their kids or someone they choose.” Marcy raised an eyebrow.”Why are you asking me this?” 

Andrias sighed,looking away.

”Marcy.....As much as I hate to admit it.....I am a very old newt, and even us newts cannot live forever. As much as I’d like to rule over my people for eternity, I know that I cannot....” he said, sighing.

”So, Now that I’m getting on a bit age wise.....it’s time that I began thinking about choosing my next successor......I’m afraid I’ve never had much of an interest in finding a Queen or having children,I never had the time.....so I need to choose someone who I know will be capable of ruling all of Newtopia after me.....someone who knows all of Newtopian and Amphibian history, Someone well versed in our culture and ways,Someone smart , who can figure things out easily and prevent trouble from occurring......” 

Marcy nodded,still not getting why he had called her up.

Andrias then turned to her,smiling.

”Marcy.......I want for you to succeed me as ruler of Amphibia.”

Marcy’s eyes widened and her mouth hung open as she whipped her head up to look at him.

Wait.....what? Was he serious? Was she daydreaming or something?!?

”H-huh?” 

“You’re well immersed in our history,culture,ways of life and legal system.......you are highly intelligent.....you are naturally a very peaceful,amiable person.......as long as we can advance your education, make sure you learn more about royal duties and protocol and make sure you are educated in diplomacy and how to behave when conducting agreements and alliances.......you should make a very fine ruler indeed! Why, I can’t think of anyone more deserving of the throne! And you’d be the very first human ruler! Now,I’m afraid you won’t get the title of “princess”, I’m afraid that title is reserved only for blood relatives and blood children of the king, and since you are not my blood child.....you will have to settle with the title of “Lady”.But don’t worry-as soon as you take the throne, they’ll all know you as Queen Marcy- the title will belong to you and you alone and no one can disputes your title.” 

Marcy didn’t believe it.She couldn’t believe it.

”S-Sir......uh......uh...”

King Andrias raised an eyebrow.”What is it?” 

“King Andrias you can’t be serious! Everyone here hates me! What makes you think they’d ever want me as a ruler?!?” She yelled, shocked and distressed.

Andrias chuckled.”Oh please,they just need time! Give them enough time to get to know you, to see how much you’ll grow and learn, and before you know it they’ll be throwing me off the throne early just so you can take them over!” He chuckled.

”Now,I’ll arrange for Lady Olivia to get more books on royal protocols and start teaching you diplomatic skills......we have plenty of time....” 

”But.....what if I don’t wanna be their ruler?”

“Oh Marcy,Marcy Marcy Marcy......I know, being ruler of Newtopia seems like a very hard,stressful job........but really it’s very rewarding.......plus,you’re basically the richest person in Newtopia!!” He motioned around the room, all of the lavish and ornate objects and items made from gold.Marcy didn’t want any of them.

She didn’t want to be ruler, and she was sure the newts didn’t want her to be their ruler either.

But Andrias didn’t seem to be taking no for an answer.

”King An-“ 

“Now then, I really must get back to my work, why don’t you go tend to your plants or something?”

Marcy sighed shakily,slowly walking out without a word.

King Andrias called Lady Olivia in afterwards, the door closing behind her.After a few minutes,Marcy heard Lady Olivia scream “YOU WHAT!!?” And heard what sounded like arguing and pleading from behind the door.

She started speed walking to her room, the sound of arguing bringing back memories she’d tried so hard to forget. She got into her room, sitting on the bed, her head in her hands.

Why was this happening? 

Why had her future suddenly been chosen for her without any consent on her behalf? 

How had her future been torn from her and replaced with a future that someone else wanted for her? 

She knew King Andrias cared for her and probably thought he was making a good decision, doing something that was best for the kingdom, but it wasn’t what was best for her!!! It wasn’t what she wanted at all! 

She didn’t want to be ruler.......

She couldn’t be ruler........She....

She just wanted to be her.

She wanted to go to school, play video games on her DS, to run around the castle and play outside and explore the world.

She wanted to not have to worry about ruling an entire country and keeping everyone safe.

She just wanted to be herself.

She wanted to be a kid.

She wanted to go home. 

___________________________________________________________________________

The next morning,every noble, aristocrat, diplomat, and member of the Newtopian royal court was assembled in the throne room, King Andrias smiling wide as the newts and few salamanders before him assembled and looked up at him. Lady Olivia stood by him, and Marcy stood by Olivia, arms behind her back, feeling unbelievably nervous.

”Nobles of Newtopia! Thank you for making my acquaintance today! Now, let’s get down to business......the reason why I have called you all here is because, as you all know, I have been trying to find a suitable candidate for my successor.....and now, at long last, I have finally found one!”

Collective exclamations and whispers all spread throughout the crowd, Marcy feeling all the more jittery.

”My dear friends,It is with great honor and pride, that I present to you my chosen successor, my charge,Lady Marcy Wu.” 

He motioned to Marcy, who was breathing heavily, shaking as everyone in the room turned and stared at her.She looked down, breathing heavily.

The room was dead silent-then one newt spoke up.

”Your majesty... forgive me for saying so.....but this is... ABSOLUTELY ABSURD!!” The newt yelled,clearly outraged.

``THE CHILD IS NOT A BLOOD RELATIVE! WHO KNOWS WHERE SHE CAME FROM OR HER PARENTAGE!! A-AND NEWTS HAVE BEEN THE ONLY ONES TO RULE AMPHIBIA AND NEWTS ARE THE ONLY SPECIES CAPABLE OF RULING!!YOU CAN’T JUST SLAP ANOTHER SPECIES ON THE THRONE AND EXPECT THE KINGDOM TO SURVIVE!!HOW DO WE KNOW SHES EVEN INTELLIGENT ENOUGH?!?” 

The other newts began to voice their opinions as well -- harsh, angry,shocked,outraged and critical opinions regarding why The “Wise and great” King Andrias had just chosen a random creature to take on the role of being ruler of all of Amphibia. 

Marcy shut her eyes and covered her ears.This was too much.It was all too much.The anger,the shouting, all directed at her.

She sat down on the ground, drawing her knees together chest and cupping her hands tightly over her ears in an attempt to drown out the noise.She rocked herself back and forth,humming somewhat loudly, trying to drown out the angry noises.

King Andrias was standing up, yelling over the crowd.

``EVERYONE SETTLE DOWN PLEASE!! Believe me, I know what I’m doing! The girl is getting a proper education, she’s on the path to learning everything she needs to learn to succeed me as sovereign! She may be a different species but that does not mean that she’ll be an inferior ruler! She is highly intelligent, highly empathetic-“ 

“SIR!”

Lady Olivia was holding Marcy by the shoulders, trying to soothe the girl, who was clearly in a state of distress. 

Andrias’s eyes widened,panicking, worrying that something was seriously wrong with his young charge.He bent down, cupping his hands over Marcy, trying to protect her from the eyes and harsh voices of the crowd.

The poor thing was shaking so violently…and the crowd...they…

They just wouldn’t shut up!

”EVERYONE OUT! GET OUT!” He roared, the newts all falling dead silent and cowering at the colossal newt’s sudden outburst.

The room was suddenly silent, apart from Marcy’s humming and sobs of distress and Andrias’s heavy breathing.The giant newt slowly regained his composure, then cleared his throat.

``I......I am sorry.....Forgive me......I’m.....please,Lady Olivia, escort them outside,I’ll talk with them once I get Marcy here calmed down.....” He said,breathing heavily.

Lady Olivia stood back, eyes wide in fear.

”R-right away,your highness.....” she mumbled, turning to the other newts, all of whom were just as fearful as Olivia led them outside. 

Andrias breathed in and out, calming himself down as he slowly opened his hands.

Marcy was curled up in on herself,hugging her knees to her chest as she sobbed raggedly.

He slowly began rubbing her back with the tip of his finger, being as gentle as possible.The girl shuddered,sobbing harder.

”Hey........Hey it’s ......it’s alright......ssssh.......” Andrias whispered, trying to calm her down and let her know that she was safe.

”......No one is going to hurt you,Marcy.....I swear.......they’re all gone, no one is going to hurt you, sweet girl....” 

Marcy looked up, eyes overflowing with tears and full of fear and immeasurable melancholy.

”T-t-t-they.......d-don’t........They.....”

“Sssh......” 

The newt slowly scooped her up into his cupped hands, holding her close to his chest, using his thumb to rub her back as she clung to his chest, grabbing onto his beard tightly.

”It’ll all be alright.......they were all just.......shocked, is all.......sssh.......dear child, just give them all time!” He reassured.

”How do you know???” Marcy sobbed.

”They will! Trust me.” He said, gently nuzzling the top of her head with the tip of his snout. 

She sniffled and huffed, holding onto him.

”Just calm down,Marcy.....it’ll be alright! I’ll make sure that everything is alright!” He said, holding her as close as he could without accidentally crushing her.

”Now.......why don’t we get you to your room.....I understand that this has all upset you greatly, so you can rest for as long as you need.....” 

He began carrying her back to her room, Marcy slowly calming down, her huffs and loud sobs quieting down.

Andrias soon got her into her room, kneeling down and gently setting Marcy down on her bed. She quickly dove under the covers, feeling the strong desire to cover herself with something warm and heavy.She grabbed her caterpillar plushie and hugged it close, lying down, wrapped in her bedsheets so that she looked like a little human burrito. 

Andrias chuckled, gently rubbing the top of her head with his finger.

”It’s going to be okay......I swear.....I’ll talk to everyone, I’ll make them understand.Tomorrow we can begin schooling you on diplomacy and all the royal basics......but for now, you just rest.....” 

He got up, making his way out of her room and closing the door behind him.

Marcy just lay there, hugging her caterpillar, feeling drained of all energy. 

She hadn’t asked for any of this.

As far as she knew,she’d done nothing to deserve all this.

So why her? 

Why did her parents have to get a divorce and then cease to love her? 

Why did she have to get transported to a whole new world who’s inhabitants were incredibly hostile towards her? 

Why did she have to have her future picked out for her, leaving her without any say in what she wanted.

Why her? 

Why?


	9. Mud Baptism

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special Thank you to monsterz_in_my_bed on instagram for helping me write this!!

“Anne! Anne! Get up girl!! We’ll be late!!” Hop Pop yelled as he walked into Sprig and Anne’s room, pushing the door open as he looked down at the now eight year old human, who was currently sleeping under her bedsheets.Anne groaned and curled up further under her sheets. 

"Yeah... okay... in a minute..." she said sleepily.

Hop Pop huffed, pulling the covers away from the sleeping child.

”Now Anne! We can’t risk bein’ late for this!”

Anne quickly sat up, feeling the cool air against her skin. She swung her legs over the bedside and huffed.

"Fine!"

Hop Pop sighed, then began to rummage through the large cardboard box that Anne kept her clothes in.

”Now, d’ya have anything nice to wear? Anything that ain’t wrinkled or covered in mud and shi-“ Hop Pop stopped himself before he could utter the rest of the word.

Now that Anne was an official part of the family, he had grown much more comfortable around her-which included him not being as careful with his choice of words.There had been numerous times when, in a moment of anger or annoyance, he’d let a few certain words slip, only to find out afterwards that the kids had been around the whole time and had heard the many profanities that had fallen from his mouth. He'd always make sure to tell them, very sternly, to never say those words in front of anyone, even their friends and each other, but with kids their age you really never could trust them to not say the words. 

Anne yawned and rubbed her eyes.”Mmmm....I don't know.” 

Hop Pop kept on rummaging around till he found a wrinkled, short sleeved light blue shirt and a jean skirt. He sighed.....this would have to do. 

He gave the clothes to her. ”Here, put these on....then meet me in the bathroom so we can make you look presentable....” 

Anne took them, yawning once more. 

"Okay..." She said tiredly,waiting till her amphibian grandfather left the room before going to change.

Hop Pop walked to the bathroom, then stopped and glanced downstairs.

”Sprig? You and Polly okay?” 

About six months prior, the frog egg had finally hatched and, with immense joy, the Plantars had welcomed a small, feisty, dark pink female tadpole into their family, Hop Pop giving her the name Polly- naming her after some relative of his. 

Polly Petunia Plantar. 

She was small, cute, and had proved to be quite a handful-jumping all over the place, chewing on things, getting herself stuck in different places.......but they all loved her unconditionally, especially Anne-from day one Anne had made it clear that she would do anything for her little tadpole sister.

”Yeah! Polly’s asleep......for now...” Sprig said. 

“Good!” The old frog said,smiling as he walked into the bathroom. 

Anne finished changing and went to Hop Pop, still tired, grumbling a bit as she stood in front of Hop Pop. 

Hop Pop rummaged around in the drawer under the sink and got out a wooden hairbrush-which had a few bristles missing thanks to Anne’s hair.

After caring for the girl for a whole year, one thing he’d learned was that her hair was near impossible to tame.Still, he thought he’d give it a shot.

Anne sat down on the side of the bathtub while he struggled to help her, grunting and emitting barely audible cusses as he battled with her wild mass of hair. It would be kind of amusing if she wasn't so tired.

He slowly tried pulling the brush through the girl’s hair, wincing as he heard yet another bristle snap. Anne pulled away from him, wincing. 

"You know what, it's fine... It looks okay." 

“It does not! It looks like a bush! And you’ve got leaves n’ twigs stuck in it for cryin out loud!” 

Hop Pop pulled a few leaves out, and then started tugging at the twigs that were embedded in her hair,trying to get them unstuck.

"Ow!" She yelled, wincing.

"Here, look, I can do it myself!" She said, rubbing her scalp. 

She started trying to take them out without hurting herself.Hop Pop waited, impatiently tapping his foot on the floor.

”Hurry up!”

"I'm trying!" She said ,getting the stuff out of her hair as quickly as she could.

Once she’d removed most of the stuff out, Hop Pop tried again to brush it, wincing as he hit knots and tangles.

Once the tangles and knots had been painfully brushed out, Anne just sat there getting bored, waiting for her grandfather to finish brushing her hair out.

"You almost done?" 

“Almost......there!” 

Her hair had been brushed down, looking sleek but still a bit tangled.

”Now, let’s see how this looks-“ He grabbed an indigo ribbon from his coat pocket and tied it in her hair, smiling.

“Now don’t you look pretty-“

Her hair suddenly poofed back up, a bit less frizzy then before but still wild.

Anne smiled and giggled as Hop Pop groaned with annoyance.

"Yea, it looks fine"

Hop Pop sighed, disappointed that he’d gone through all that trouble only to have all his hard work undone.

”Well, let’s go and get you some breakfast,Frog knows how damn late we’ll be now...” He grumbled as he walked out and walked downstairs.

She followed him, sighing.

"If we're gonna be late, we can skip breakfast?" 

“Certainly not! You can’t skip breakfast Anne! It’s the most important meal of the day! Especially for a growing girl like you.” 

He looked around for something he could give to her, then saw that they had a semi-stale beetle bun sitting on the kitchen counter.He sighed,handing it to Anne.

”Here, not the best breakfast but....”

She wrinkled her nose, beetle buns were good, but not as good when stale.

"Thanks." she said, taking the bun and eating up.

Hop Pop nodded.”Now c’mon, let’s go!”

He grabbed his hat, then Sprig’s hand. Sprig was holding onto Polly, who was asleep in her wooden bucket.Anne quickly followed behind them.Hop Pop shut the door, then took Anne’s hand and began walking with her into town.

In the year that Anne been staying with them, Hop Pop had introduced her to multiple parts of frog culture and customs.From caring for livestock, growing and harvesting crops and learning how to haggle at the market to common slang terms, Amphibian sports and how to watch out for dangerous vermin and other creatures.

But one thing he’d completely forgotten to introduce her to was Frog Church-one of the most important parts of a frog’s life-at least in his opinion.

Frog Church, besides being a place to worship the almighty Frog, was also a place to build stronger relationships with your community and connect with your fellow frogs.He figured that taking her with him to Frog Church would be rather good for her and could help her connect with the townspeople a bit more.

Anne followed ,trying to keep up with the old frog as He speed walked, Sprig hopping along while holding Polly close so that the little tadpole didn't fall out of her bucket as they made their way to a huge building, made out of a stout, wide mushroom.

”Here we are! The Mud Baptist Holy Church of Frog !”

Anne looked around with amazement at the place with amazement- the mushroom building was cool looking- but her excitement died down when she heard the word “ church”. 

"Church?" 

“Yep!The Holy Church of Frog!”

He motioned at the building, eyes wide with awe and spirituality-oblivious to the youngster’s lack of excitement.

"Oh" she said, wishing she'd never come along.

She’d been to church a few times back in her world due to the children’s home being church run, and it was boring as all heck. She’d rather watch paint dry than go to yet another church service.

"How long are we going to be here?" 

“Well, it’ll depend on how long the baptism takes...” Hop Pop said. 

Besides attending the Frog Church- if Anne was going to be considered an official member, she’d have to undergo a baptism-once she was baptized, she’d be a member of the church and the community-at least in the eyes of some of the more overly religious frogs.

"What?! I don't wanna sit through that, it's gonna be so boring!" she said, sulking.

“Oh it won’t be!” 

“Yeah it will-trust me.” Spring said, obviously not happy about being there either.

”SPRIG!” Hop Pop reprimanded.

“What? Im being honest!” 

”Well,,,Now, just, everyone in!” 

Hop Pop pulled the kids into the church, which was already packed full of frogs, who were all chatting to each other or looking for a suitable seat.

The church’s Reverend- a huge, old , dark blue-grey colored bullfrog, stood in the very back behind a wooden stand that had a huge, heavy looking book that was bound in a green leather- like substance on it. A marble statue of a frog wearing some kind of robe stood next to him, and in front of the statue was a huge marble tub that was full of what looked like mud. 

Anne looked into the tub, scrunching her nose and cocking her head to one side in confusion.

"Mud? What's that for?" She asked Hop Pop. 

“For the service! Just a part of it.” He said, sitting down on one of the half-rotted wooden benches towards the back of the church.There were stained glass windows on the walls of the church, all of which were faded and coated with mud and dust, but they still had some color to them as the sunlight shone through them, leaving speckles of colored light on the wooden floors.

Sprig sighed, holding Polly-who still slept soundly in her bucket.Anne went over to them and sighed, sitting next to Sprig and slumping down, already bored. 

” Hopefully it’ll be quick…”Sprig muttered.” It’s always boring here…” 

As everyone got inside and the front door to the church closed, the Reverend cleared his throat.

”Children of Frog! Thank you all for coming here today, to rejoice the name of our lord and savior-” 

Anne groaned, putting her face in her hands, getting flashbacks of the church back home.

” Will you all please join me in this prayer?” The Reverend asked as he opened the heavy book, putting his finger on a page.

”Psalms 10.Gospel of Newt.” 

Hop Pop pulled a small, leather bound book from inside his jacket, flipping through till he found the page, the other frogs around them doing the same. Polly woke up, yawning, stretching her little tadpole arms out. Anne tried hard to pay attention, and at least act like she was interested. She looked around the room, at different things, or just shifted around,wishing she had something to do.Polly, seeing that there was nothing to entertain her either, slowly went back to sleep.

”Good choice,little sis....I think I’ll do the same...” Sprig said,yawning as he rested his head on Anne’s shoulder.

Anne looked over at her two frog siblings and smiled, forgetting for the moment they were at this place. She was getting tired, but didn't want to be rude, so she forced herself to stay awake.

Hop Pop was too busy reading and muttering the prayers from the book to notice that Sprig and Polly were now fast asleep, Anne slowly drifting off to sleep herself. 

After a half an hour of reading, the minister cleared his throat.

”Brethren! It is now with great joy that we welcome, into our church, a new member! A new member who shall join this community!” 

Hop Pop glanced over at Anne,smiling. Anne was jolted awake by the Minister’s voice and sat up straight, smiling nervously.The Minister walked down the aisle, going over to Anne.

”I believe you are the young lady Hoppediah told me so much about?” He asked,smiling at her.

"Uhm, yeah.." she said softly.

He held out his hand, eyeing this funny little creature.

”Reverend J. Bogwater, Pleasure to meet ya!”

Anne shook his hand, feeling a little intimidated by the large frog.

"Nice to meet you too, I’m Anne." 

“Well that’s a very pretty name-everyone! Today we welcome Anne.....uh, what’s your middle name?” 

"I dont have one." 

“Oh, well I guess ya don’t need one.....Everyone! Today we welcome Anne Plantar into this church and this community! And it is with great pride that we shall baptize her in the name of Frog so that he may accept her as his own!” 

"Wait ….its me getting baptized?" Anne asked, suddenly panicking.

“Why yes you are!” Rev. Bogwater said as Hop Pop got up.

”Now come on Anne, let’s get you up there...” He eyed the mud tub at the front of the room.

Anne hesitated, not knowing what was going to happen. 

"Wait... do i have to?" 

It wasn't the mud itself that made her uncomfortable, it was this frog church, the whole religion thing, it just made her feel uncomfortable. 

“Don’t worry, we’ll lead ya through it.....” Reverend Bogwater said, going up to the tub as Hop Pop held Anne’s shoulders.Everyone watched, Sprig looking nervously at her from his seat. 

"Okay..." Anne said nervously, not sure what to expect, and just wanting to leave. Her heart started racing as The Revered looked to the crowd.

”All rise!”

Everyone did,then bowed their heads as the reverend looked to the sky, arms open in devotion.

”Dear Frog! May you accept this child into your benevolent arms and guide her towards your light! May she have your guidance and protection throughout her life, and may she accepted into this Frog -fearing community!” 

A few frogs shouted.``PRAISE FROG!” And “AMEN!” In the crowd. 

Anne’s heart started pounding, she didn't want any of this.

"H-hey... wait--" 

Hop Pop backed away as the reverend slowly put his hands on her shoulders, pushing her closer to the mud.

``Now,Anne, just hold your breath,okay?” He said. 

"W-wait, no --" she said, unprepared for this.

“On the count of three, one...two....” 

"No!" She yelped, closing her eyes tightly.

“Three!” 

He pushed her head into the mud, holding her head down as he chanted out a quick prayer.Anne started struggling, thrashing around, trying to escape to get some air.After the prayer was done, the reverend pulled her back up, holding a towel out to her.Anne shot up and spat out some mud before gasping for air, quickly grabbing the towel and wiping her face, still trying to breathe.

Everyone cheered, yelling “AMEN!” and other similar phrases.As Hop Pop smiled and looked up at Anne, eyes widened.

”Uh, Anne, there’s a little somethin in your hair....”

Anne looked at him and slowly moved her hand up to her hair and felt around, her fingers gently touched something slimy. 

There was a worm in her hair.

She froze in place, then started to freak out , heart racing and eyes widening in terror.

"G-get it out, get it out GET IT OUT GET IT OUT!!!" She yelled, jumping around frantically.

``There now Anne don’t panic-“ Hop Pop started.

“Oh dear! Should’ve checked for worms...” The reverend said, eyes widening.

”Just stay still Child! I’ll remove ‘em!” 

The reverend started trying to look through her mud coated hair, grabbing for the slimy little creature.

Anne couldn't stay still, she tried, but the feeling of the worm squirming around in her hair made her jump and shift and whimper, feeling nauseated and starting to get light headed. The anxiety and fear soon got to her- She was breathing way too fast, she could barely see, and got dizzy.

Hop Pop was following her around, as she sifted about, the reverend still rying to grab hold of the worm and get it out.

”Anne hold still!”

The panicked girl finally stopped, nearly falling to the ground.The reverend took the opportunity to finally pull the worm out of her hair, then look for more, pulling two more squirming worms out.

”There! No more worms for ya!”

Anne stumbled around for a second, looking at the thrashing worms in his hand before fainting.

Everyone gasped, crowding around her, exclaiming and whispering amongst themselves.

”ANNE!” Spring yelled as he left Polly at their seat as he ran up, kneeling down and shaking Anne.

”ANNE!ANNE!”

“Careful boy!!” Hop Pop pulled him back, The Reverend cupping Anne’s face in his hands and talking to her, trying to wake her up.

”Anne, wake up honey, it’s alright......” he gently shook her, someone using their paper fan to fan her a bit. After a while, she jolted awake, sitting up, and holding her head in pain.

“Mmmm...UGH! SON OF A SNAIL FUCKER!” she yelled, still dazed, her head aching, not knowing where she was.

Everyone gasped,going dead silent.

Hop Pop’s eyes were wide with shock, mortified that his grandchild had just cussed, out loud , and in frog church of all places! He looked around, sweating profusely, hoping that the other frogs wouldn’t guess that she’d learned the word from him.....he did have a tendency to say that particular curse whenever he burned something in the kitchen or found that one of the crops had started rotting.

Anne kept holding her head, waiting for the pain to fade away before looking up and around at the horrified faces, remembering where she was. She stuttered, going pale, too embarrassed to say anything.She just sat there, not moving, frozen, just like everyone else around her.

Hop Pop eventually broke the silence, laughing nervously.

”W-Well Rev, thank you so much for your services, a-and were very grateful that you’ve all accepted Anne into the community....heh.....I -Ithink we’ll just go...”

Anne quickly got up, dusting herself off, and went to follow Hop Pop.Spring followed, grabbing Polly and holding her close, looking up at his mud-covered human sibling.He waited until they’d walked out of the church and into town before talking.

”So.......how was it?” He asked.

"HORRIBLE." Anne yelled, still looking embarrassed and scared.

"Dont even remind me about it!” 

“Yeah....mine was too.....I don’t remember it as much but I remember mine being pretty bad......I wonder if Polly will need to do it too...” Sprig said, shivering as he remembered his own mud baptism. He looked at Polly, who snored loudly.

“I’m not sure if we’ll be able to show our faces in that church ever again...” Hop Pop said, shuddering a bit, looking worn out and abashed from the event. 

Anne was ashamed of herself, thinking she’d just ruined something very important for Hop Pop. 

"I- im sorry". She said quietly, looking down.

Hop Pop looked at her, then sighed.

”No, no.....I should’ve prepared you more for that, I’m sorry… and I should be a bit more careful with my language when I’m around you kids.....”.

Anne looked down. She covered in the mud, from her head to her shoulders, and it was slowly drying, leaving her feeling itchy as the mud cracked and flaked from her skin. She wished she’d have been more mature about the whole thing.

Hop Pop looked at her, then slowly put his hand on her head, ruffling her hair, which was matted with drying mud.

“Ya should’ve seen yourself when you were movin around with the worms in your hair-- you were jumpier than a tadpole on a sugar rush. Not to mention the sight of ya, all covered in mud, lookin like you’d just seen a ghost.” 

He tried to mimic her expression, widening his eyes and waving his arms around his head, mouth agape. 

“ U-aaaaah! Get ‘em out! Get ‘em oooout!” he said, trying to mimic her voice.

Anne looked at him,smiling a bit and laughing, feeling a little better and just wanting to get cleaned up. 

The old frog gave her a small smile, glad that he’d cheered her up a bit.

“ Anyway, when we get home,let’s get you washed up, then we can make us some lunch.”

Anne nodded.

"Yeah..lets do that.”

Hop Pop pulled her and Sprig close, smiling. Polly woke up and yawned, reaching out for someone to pick her up out of her bucket.Anne picked her up and bounced her, in her arms, smiling, feeling better about today. 

Polly giggled, tugging at Anne’s muddy locks, looking up at her with big, round eyes. Anne laughed, pulling her away.

"I gotta get cleaned up first before we play!” 

Polly just tugged some more,not understanding a word that came out of the human’s mouth.Hop Pop smiled at them,then smiled at Sprig, who was looking around, perhaps trying to see if he could see Ivy somewhere in the crowded streets of the town. He sighed contentedly, happy to be surrounded by his family.

His weird little family.

No matter what mistakes they made, no matter what they did, no matter what people thought of them, he would always love them.....no matter what.


	10. A Sharp Sword and A Sharp Mind

“What’s all that?” 

Grime jumped, whipping around to see the now nine year old Sasha standing in behind him, looking at the vast array of maps that were tacked to the stone walls of his bedroom. The old toad had been planning out where to send his scouts next -- mainly to monitor some of the wealthier towns-when the young soldier had come in unexpectedly.

”Why are you here?” He asked sternly, raising an eyebrow.

”We finished battle practice- dinner’s being served. What are those?” 

She pointed at the maps again. Grime looked at the maps, and it was then that he realized that the child didn’t know about the rest of Amphibia, other than where they lived and the villages they raided. 

”...Maps....Maps of Amphibia.....” 

Sasha walked closer, eyeing them.There were multiple of them -- old, yellowed maps that showed close ups of certain areas, political maps, maps that had tacs on certain areas and places.... Maps of all sorts, all covering the wall like thin, yellowish wallpaper.

”So, That’s Amphibia?” She pointed to the biggest map, right on the center of the wall,which showed a large, lily pad shaped thing, the script underneath reading “AMPHIBIA”.

”Yes, it is.....And we are....here...” 

Grime placed his finger on a small area of the map that depicted mountains, labeled “The Valley”. 

“ How come you got all these maps? “ Sasha asked, her eyes scanning the great map. 

“ I use them to plot which towns and villages we need to visit, keep track of the towns and villages that have paid and the ones that haven’t, classify the rich, poor and barely surviving towns and villages, plan out where the next battles might be, plan out where to send scouts… many reasons.” 

Sasha looked at each area on the map, her eyes falling on an area that had a tower depicted on it. She looked at the text written near it.

”Newtopia....Looks like they have a tower of their own...” 

Grime nodded.”Newtopia’s the capital city of Amphibia, ruled by a colossal newt by the name of Andrias Leviathan......technically we work for him......we have to collect taxes, which we give to him, and in exchange we are given half the total amount of money gained from the collected taxes and his protection......as long as we serve him and don’t “do anything too barbaric.” He said, sounding slightly bitter.

Sasha cocked her head,looking at him, growing curious as to why the toad captain sounded so angry at the mention of this “ Andrias Leviathan.” 

”So.....he’s on our side,or....?” 

“The King says he doesn’t take sides......probably because the only side he’s on is his own. All he cares about is himself and his kingdom. If the frogs and other creatures in the villages and towns didn’t have to pay taxes to keep up his and the other elite’s lifestyles he’d probably give absolutely 0 fucks about them.” 

He didn’t even consider the fact that he’d just sworn in front of a child. He knew that Sasha, despite her young age, was mature enough to handle such language....plus Frog knows the things she’d heard come out of the mouths of her fellow soldiers over the past three years that she’d been with them.

”.......Have you ever met the King?” Sasha asked.

”Yes......let me tell you something,Sasha.......The King was very friendly when I first met him....too friendly........at first I just thought it was because he was one of those annoying, always cheerful people who just can’t bear to feel anything other than joy because they’re too weak and pathetic to handle any other emotion......but then I saw through him......right through him.....the only reason why he acted this way was to get us to let our guard down....get us to see him as weak and harmless and then trust him so that he could use us to get exactly what he wanted.” He growled, the abhorrence he had for this newt evident in his voice.

”He used us to leech us of our money,our independence as creatures…. to make sure he got the majority of the money from the taxes that WE collected, that WE fight to get, goes to him and the newts while we don’t get nearly anything! All the while trapping us in his system so that we couldn’t go back to living on our own even if we tried. When we try to ask for more money, for a fairer cut of the cash in exchange for our services, he just laughs, smiles that lying smile of his, and tells us that we get enough money....Sure, we get enough.... Enough to fund the tower, but that's about it. Everything else here, from our armor, our weapons, our furniture, our clothes, our tarantulas and carts......it’s looted.We don’t tell him about the looting much.....we do need to give him some things that we loot, but as long as no one says a thing, we can keep what we choose. We have a well to provide us with water, but there have been times when it gets polluted or threatens to dry up, and we have to live worrying whether or not we’ll have water or not.As for our food, we must hunt and farm.....Braddock keeps a small garden up that manages to produce some vegetables to feed us despite the shit climate.....” 

He sighed, breathing in an attempt to not get too angered as he talked about the grievances the king had committed against the toads.

”It's.....unfair.....to say the least.The way the newts always go first before every other species.....even the frogs seem to come before us sometimes.....” 

He glared at the drawing of Newtopia at the map, his eyes were smoldering with rage.Sasha watched him with intensity, hanging in to every word that came out of the toad’s sharp toothed mouth.The girl felt rage boil inside of her- a rage that Grime and the rest of the army had felt since the day they’d learned about Andrias’s deception. 

How DARE he do this to them, after all they were doing for him???

How DARE he leave them with little resources, to the point where they had to steal most of their things and look to their own devices to get resources like food and clean water while he and his rich friends lived carefree, indulgent lives off the money the toads had collected? 

How DARE he! 

”.....Why don’t we fight back?” She asked, eyes bright and flaming with anger.

Grime looked at her, sighing.

”No, I afraid not, Little fire eyed creature......I’m afraid that, while the Newtopian army may be comprised of weaker warriors compared to us, due to having such sheltered, well provided for existences and lesser training, they outnumber us greatly......and once you disobey the King, you are given two choices: Either you have to live underground, or face being imprisoned and possibly executed.......” 

“But what if we made our army bigger?”

Grime stared at the girl. Wheels were turning inside her head,ideas forming.

”What if......next time we collect taxes......we give the villagers a choice......either they join us and join our army....or we confiscate or destroy everything they own....if they want to keep their stuff, their land.....then they can train with us.....become warriors....add to our army....” 

Grime was silent.

This child......had a very,VERY good plan.

A plan that didn’t seem like something that could be thought out by a young child.....but Sasha obviously proved that notion wrong.

The girl’s mind was as sharp as the sword that hung in it’s sheath at her hip.

How could he have not thought of it sooner??

”........You’re onto something,Little fire eyed creature....” he said,turning to face her.

”......Think it could work?” Sasha asked, eyes widening. 

”......Let me think about it with the others......maybe refine it a bit.....but yes, I believe this plan of yours could work...” 

He looked down at her. Nine years old, and already an accomplished fighter with a title......and possibly a genius when it came to battle planning.

She was remarkable.

”Captain Grime? Dinner’s getting cold!” Alric called from downstairs. 

Grime sighed,walking downstairs,Sasha right behind him.

”......Perhaps it’s time you spent less time on the practice fields and more time with me and Admiral Wormwood...” 

Sasha looked up,raising an eyebrow.

”...Why?”

“Well.....you’ve already proved yourself to be incredibly skilled in warfare, Mantis Slayer.” He said,eyeing her as he referenced the title bestowed upon her by her fellow soldiers.

``But besides warfare and battle skills, a strategic mind is also another important asset for a warrior to possess....and if you spend more time with us, we can maybe take the plans you create, refine them.....and use them....maybe teach you a few things about battle planning and strategies.” 

Sasha stepped closer. She felt......excited.

Excited and.....hopeful? 

“....Yes....I’ll do it!” She said,trying not to let this new wave of happiness show in her voice. Grime nodded.

”Good......we’ll eat dinner now,then meet me in my room, I can start showing you all we’ve been doing regarding spies and scouting missions...” 

He kept talking as they went downstairs, but all Sasha could focus on was Grime. Not only had she gotten his praise, a rare occurrence for any soldier in the army.....she’d also suddenly gained new respect from him.

She wasn’t just a child in his eyes......she was now a smart,strong young warrior who was living up to and going beyond every expectation he’d had. 

It made her feel......proud of herself. 

But she also suddenly felt differently about him. 

He was her teacher, her captain......but.....the way he’d taken her in, the way he now offered to mentor her and educate her and get her more involved within the army.....

It was.......

Those were all things that a father would do for their child. 

Things Sasha’s biological father never would’ve done for her.

Yet Grime-who many would consider unfit for fatherhood, was doing all these things for Sasha.

He......

He wasn’t just acting as her teacher and commander.

He was her father.

How had she not realized this till now? 

Sasha couldn’t help but let a smile make it’s way onto her face.

She had a father......a real father....one that respected her and paid attention to her and cared about her.

She had a father......and she was going to do everything and anything she could to make sure she kept making him proud.....and that he stayed with her.....no matter what.

She didn’t care what it took.....she was going to make him proud.


	11. Just A Hiccup

“My Frog, that couldn’t have gone any worse!!” 

Lady Olivia groaned, face palming as Marcy hugged herself and shrank into the carriage seat, shivering every time the carriage wheels hit a bump in the road and made the carriage jump, her bruised little body aching with every sudden movement. 

_____________________________________________________________________________

Earlier that day, they’d gone to a rather important event-a charity ball hosted by a prominent Newtopian socialite. Andrias had insisted That Lady Olivia take Marcy, saying that it’d be good for her. He’d believed that it would help Marcy get better acquainted with the higher ups of Newtopian society and help get her assimilated with their ways so that she could gain more acceptance from the Newtopians.

Both Marcy and Lady Olivia had completely objected to the idea-but King Andrias had put his foot down on the matter, leaving the reluctant royal advisor and nine year old heir to the throne with no choice than to put on their best clothes and go to the event. 

Things had gone okay . . . at first. 

After arriving at the socialite’s manor house and being escorted inside by some servants, Lady Olivia and Marcy’s presence had been announced to everyone, the guests all bowing before them - something that had made Marcy feel uncomfortable.

After being announced and going through all the other usual formalities, Lady Olivia had made sure that Marcy was introduced to everyone there- every noble, socialite, and other people of significance that had attended the event. Eventually, Marcy got to meet with the newt that was hosting the event , and they’d struck up a conversation about something that had to do with Newtopian history, Marcy immediately going into detail about all she knew and explaining her own thoughts and opinions on certain topics as her host listened, nodding or commenting every so often. Even when she got excited about a particular topic and started flapping her hands like she usually did whenever she got really excited about something, the newt socialite didn’t even react.

Things actually seemed like they might go okay.

Even Lady Olivia had relaxed a little bit after she saw Marcy talking to another socialite about a statue that was nearby.

Things had been okay.....until Marcy had gone to go refill her drink, only to trip over someone’s tail and smash her glass on another guest’s face.

The poor newt immediately began screaming in pain, shards of thin glass in his snout and up his nose. Marcy had gotten up, apologizing profusely, panicking as everyone around them turned and looked at the glass-shard covered newt, whose nose had begun bleeding quite a lot, gasps and screams escaping the mouths of the shocked and horrified guests. 

Marcy was barely able to breathe, panic setting in and clouding her mind as she’d scrambled to go find help, only to bump into a frog waiter who’d been holding a tray of drinks-which promptly fell off the tray and spilled onto Lady Olivia and the young lady newt she’d been talking to, covering them both in sticky red juice. 

The disgruntled waiter had also bumped into another, somewhat drunk newt, who proceeded to punch the poor bloke in the face.The enraged waiter then pounced on the newt, starting a drunken,violent brawl that other newts tried to stop-then joined in with after they’d been slapped or punched by one of the fighters. 

Marcy, having a full on panic attack, started frantically running around, trying to escape the mess she’d unintentionally made, struggling to breathe and not black out from stress. She’d raced towards what she’d thought was an exit door, only to end up falling down a flight of stairs, groaning as she reached the bottom, her head spinning.

A well - meaning elderly newt had gone over to go help her up, but as she’d gotten up and leaned on him for support, there was a loud “CRACK!” and before Marcy knew it, she’d fallen back on the ground, the poor old newt underneath her, yelling that his back had been thrown out. 

Marcy had scrambled back up, yelling a string of rushed apologies before bumping into a candle, causing it to fall and light the nearby food covered table on fire.

Screaming,scrambling and knocking more things down ensued shortly afterwards.

Marcy, who at that point was extremely panicked and way overstimulated and upset , had resorted to curling up on the floor,shaking, before Lady Olivia had grabbed her and dragged her out of the mansion, shoving her into the carriage before getting in and getting them the hell out of dodge.

______________________________________________________________________________

Lady Olivia looked down at her stained dress, then sighed glancing over at the human child sitting next to her.

”Well, at least nobody died.”

Marcy looked down, gripping her skirt, unsure whether or not she could take comfort in the royal advisor’s words.

”I’m so sorry.......” She whispered as they finally arrived home. 

King Andrias was waiting,smiling brightly, although his smile faltered as soon as he saw the state of the two.

”I see......” He sighed, eyeing them both.

”Lady Olivia, you may go get yourself washed.......And can someone fetch the royal physician for Marcy?” 

He looked concernedly at the large, dark bruises that covered her arms and face, wondering what in the world the child had just been through to cause such injuries.

”I-I’m fine...” Marcy muttered as she speed - walked past him and went up to her room.She slammed the door and crawled into bed, her body aching and her eyes watering.She hugged her caterpillar plushie to her chest and buried her face in her pillow, sobbing so hard that her lungs hurt.

She could never do anything right.

Everyone hated her

Andrias was probably sick of her at this point and regretted ever taking her in.

Her eyes, muscles and stomach all hurt.

She heard the door open, and immediately dove under her covers. The last thing she wanted right now was company. 

“G-go away.....” she choked out.

She heard King Andrias sigh, sitting next to her bed. 

”Now Marcy, so what if you messed up at a party, we all make mistakes, it’s not the end of the world now, is it? In fact..heh….When I was sixteen, while at my friend’s birthday celebration, I accidentally set their house on fire! Oh ho! Was that humiliating! Ha.....Ah.....Three people were roasted alive....”

He looked over, slowly and carefully pulling the covers away from her, Marcy hiding her face with her tear-soaked pillow.

”Don’t be too hard on yourself.... We all make mistakes...” he soothed, gently rubbing the top of her head with his fingertip.

Marcy sniffled, slowly looking up with shiny,wet eyes. He smiled, lifting her chin gingerly with his finger.

”Look at me...this is but a hiccup....a small hiccup in what will soon be a successful, long and well-lived life....I promise...” 

Marcy sniffled, shivering a bit as she heard him say “ I promise.” 

King Andrias always made promises.

Each promise he’d made Marcy thus far had yet to be fulfilled.

But...maybe he’d be right… maybe this time, he’ll be right...

King Andrias patted her head softly and then got up, leaving her alone once more. Marcy snuggled back under her sheets, letting their comforting softness and warmth envelop her.

”.....Just a hiccup...........Just a hiccup.....” She repeated slowly, repeating the words until they became a slow, soft mantra, slowly lulling her to sleep.


	12. Strong Arm, Strong Heart

“MOTHERFROGGING SON OF A CICAEDA!” 

Hop Pop threw the brown - spotted, worm eaten cabbage he had just pulled from the ground over his shoulder, the rotten vegetable splattering across the dirt. Anne and Sprig winced and stepped back a little, Sprig almost dropping the only two good carrots they’d harvested.

For some reason, during that particular season, the Plantar’s crops had all fallen victim to blights , worm infestations and diseases of all sorts.The carrots,pumpkins, potatoes, cabbages,corn, turnips.....they all suffered. They could barely scavenge enough decent crops to sell, leaving Hop Pop constantly stressed over food, necessities and whether or not he and his three grandkids would even be able to survive the year. 

Hell, if things got worse, he may even have to consider selling good ol Bessie! After all...she was another mouth that he’d have to find a way to feed. 

Anne watched her frog grandfather curse and shake, rubbing his temples as a new wave of stress washed over him.The nine year old wished she could help him, wished that she could bring the crops back in some way and make sure her family didn’t have to worry about money anymore. 

But she didn’t know how.

Neither did Sprig, who looked sadly at the very small pile of produce they’d managed to harvest.

A small pumpkin, five turnips, the two carrots in Sprig’s arms, six onions.......so far they really didn’t have much. Not enough to sell to buy themselves food.

Hop Pop trembled with anxiety, walking back to the house. He couldn’t even look at his grandkids. Every time he did.....he felt as if he was failing them. Failing to provide for them, protect them.....failing to ensure that their lives would be happy and that they could live out their childhoods without worry or struggle.

Anne slowly walked after him, watching as he sat down on the couch next to Polly, who was asleep in her bucket, snoring softly as her grandfather looked down at her, his eyes tired and sad.

”......I’m sorry I can’t do more for you kids….” he said quietly,his voice hoarse.

”.....You do a lot for us,Hop Pop.” 

Hop Pop turned to see the little human standing in the doorway, looking concernedly at him.

”You do a lot! You play with us, and read books to us, cook us dinner, and all kinds of stuff!“ 

She went over and sat next to Hop Pop, hugging him, doing all she could think of to comfort him as he looked down at her, unsure of what to say in response.

Anne felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up to see Hop Pop smiling down at her,his eyes now full of both sadness and affection.

“Anne, honey, I appreciate you sayin all that….Don’t you worry about your ol Hop Pop, I’m just… just a bit worried….about the crops and money, but it’ll all work out, we’ll get through this, we always do…we...we…” 

His smile faded, and he turned away.

”......Why don’t you and Sprig go play with Ivy? I need to go count up how much money we’ve got left…..see what I can get us to eat….” 

He went upstairs, Anne watching as he went into his study and closed the door. She let out a sad sigh, going outside, feeling ice cold despite the fact that it was a hot summer day, the bright white sun shining above her.

Sprig was pulling at the potatoes, a small pile of blackened, rotted potatoes by his feet as he pulled at yet another one.

”Dang!” He exclaimed , upon seeing that the potato, like the others, was blighted and black. 

Anne sat down, hugging her knees to her face, feeling helpless. Sprig turned and saw her, dropping the blackened potato and slowly going over and sitting next to her.

”.....Hey,I’m sure it’ll be okay Anne! We still got some stuff to sell!” He said optimistically, pointing at the small pile of vegetables.

”........I just wish we could help him…” Anne said quietly.

Sprig patted her back, looking over at the house. Like Anne, he desperately wanted to help his grandfather, but he too felt helpless and unsure of what to do.

”.......Let’s get the vegetables inside, then we can visit Ivy! She always knows what to say….” Sprig said, grabbing some of the few good vegetables and walking back to the house. 

Anne slowly got up, grabbing a few vegetables and taking them into the house, laying them on the kitchen table. After they’d gotten their precious few vegetables into the kitchen, they both walked out, Anne slowly closing the door behind them as they walked into town, going to the tea shoppe Ivy’s mom owned and ran.

They walked into the tea shoppe, the customers all eyeing the two children with surprise, suspicion and some disdain-probably because they were mud covered, messy, disheveled looking farm kids who were currently tracking fresh mud through the tea house as they made their way into the kitchens.

Ivy was washing some dishes, her mother just behind her, plating up an order of fresh baked scones with clotted cricket cream and fresh strawberry jam on the side.

”Hi Ivy!” Sprig said, both Ivy and her mother turning to look at them.

”Hi Sprig,Hi Anne!” Ivy said, smiling as she finished up drying the plate she’d been holding and handed it to Felicia, who wrinkled her nose as the two grubby farm children that stood in front of her. 

Ivy walked over to them, looking concerned when she noticed the worry and sadness in Sprig’s eyes and how upset Anne looked.

”What’s up?”

“Oh, not much….we were wondering if you wanted to go do something? Sparring match, sneak attack practice, mess around with the new slingshot I made?” 

Ivy nodded, looking over at Anne. She didn’t look like she wanted to play much.

“Slingshot sounds fun-I have a couple rotten cricket eyes in the back we can use as ammunition.” 

“Perfect! C’mon, we can go sit on the roof of Stumpy’s and see what unsuspecting schmucks come our way!” 

Ivy nodded, running to the back of the kitchens and pulling out a satchel that was dripping a thin, foul smelling brownish fluid.

“ These things have been rotting in the back since last Wednesday!” She said gleefully, pulling one of the slimy, barely solid, black, jelly-like orb that had once been a cricket’s eye out of the bag. 

Sprig smiled with mischievous joy. 

“Perfect!!! Aw, Anne, smell these things!” 

He grabbed one and cringed at how gooey and slimy it felt, gagging a bit. 

Anne couldn’t even muster a smile at Sprig’s comical, grossed out reactions. All she could think of was the sad, anxious look Hop Pop had held in his eyes all season. She didn’t want him to feel that way anymore.She didn’t want him to worry anymore. She didn’t- 

“ Anne?” 

Anne looked up, Sprig and Ivy both looking concernedly at the young human. 

“ O-Oh, Sorry! “ Anne said, attempting to give them a weak smile of reassurance. 

The two young frogs didn’t seem convinced.Sprig sighed, then tried to put a smile back on his face- not wanting to let their troubles at home affect their day.

”Well, c’mon! To Stumpy’s!!” He said cheerfully as he ran out,the two girls following him.

After a bit, Ivy turned to Anne,making sure Sprig was out of earshot before talking.

”....What’s the matter? You both looked a lil down today…” 

Anne sighed, looking down. For as much as she didn’t want to bother Ivy with her and Sprig’s problems or make Ivy worry about them, she did think that she’d feel a bit better about the situation by telling someone and getting it off her chest. 

“...The crops are doing bad, really bad...Like, they all come up rotten or wormy or all wrinkled and small...Hop Pop’s been really worried and stressed about it…” 

Ivy nodded, listening closely. 

“ Is that why you guys haven’t been coming around as much? Cuz the farm isn’t doing too good?” 

“ Yeah...I feel bad for Hop Pop.He really loves the farm, and now he’s upset cuz he thinks he isn’t doing enough for us even though he really is…” 

A few tears beaded near her eyes, and she hurriedly wiped them away with her arm.

“ Hey,,, it’ll be okay...Your grandpa’s one of the toughest frogs here, I’m sure he’ll find a way to fix the problem with the crops!” Ivy said, trying to uplift her friend’s spirits.

“ I hope so…” 

“ HEY GUYS! C’mon!” 

Sprig was already at Stumpy’s, trying to find the best possible way to get onto the roof.The two girls ran over, watching as he climbed onto the table outside the diner, then crouched down and jumped onto the wooden bar that held up the sign that hung above the diner’s entrance, carefully standing up, his arms held out for balance. He then stepped up onto the thatched roof, climbing up the large, rotten wooden sign that read “ Stumpy’s Diner” and made his way up to the tallest area of the roof, letting out a huff of relief upon making it to his destination without tripping and falling off the roof. 

Ivy copied his actions, jumping onto the table, then the sign pole, then making her way over the sign and up to Sprig, sitting next to him on the roof. 

“C’mon Anne!” 

Anne slowly got up on the table, but when she jumped, she didn't make it to the bar.Instead, her face collided with the flat wooden sign, and she fell to the ground, groaning. 

“ANNE! Are you okay??” Sprig Yelled, watching as she got up.

“....I’m okay..” Anne said, smelling copper as blood ran from her nose.Sprig jumped down, rushing to her.”I’m sorry, I should’ve helped you get up…”

“ It’s fine...I’m...I’m gonna go back to the house...You guys can go sling cricket eyes without me..” 

“But Anne..” 

“Go ahead, Sprig...it’s okay…” 

Anne started walking away, Sprig and Ivy both watching her worriedly.Sprig sighed, jumping back up to the roof.

Maybe Anne just needed to be alone today. 

Anne walked through town, her eyes down, hands shoved deep into the pockets of her overalls, her mind clouded with anxiety, fear, and sadness. 

Was there any way to help her family? Any way she could somehow heal the crops, banish their worries and misfortune, make Hop Pop happy and lively and take away his stress… 

Her thoughts were interrupted by a loud scream, then a thud as a strong, stout frog suddenly crashed into the ground just a few feet away, startling the girl so bad she felt as if her bones would jump right out of her skin.

A series of loud cheers and cries suddenly became audible to her ears, and as she turned to her right, she saw a crowd of frogs gathered around a clearing near the edge of town, a huge, muscular, dark green frog standing in the centre, smiling a proud, victorious smile as the crowds cheered around him.

“ WHO ELSE DARES TO CHALLENGE THE ALMIGHTY BONEBREAKER?” He yelled, the crowd cheering louder.

Anne found herself intrigued by this sudden raucous interruption, walking towards the crowd, trying to see what they’d crowded around and where the large frog was standing. It was a fighting ring of sorts- a circular fence of wood and thick hemp rope surrounding it.

“ Who is that?” She asked a random frog spectator that stood beside her, gazing at the strong frog with eyes full of awe. 

“ The Bonebreaker...The strongest frog in all of Wartwood- maybe all of Amphibia! He’s a blacksmith by trade, probably how he got so strong-lifting anvils and stuff- but he also challenges anyone who’s willing to fight-and he’s gone undefeated for years now!!” The frog said, the admiration in his voice unmistakeable.

The Bonebreaker leaned on one of the fence posts, chugging some kind of yellowish sludge from a mug and then proceeding to crush the mug between his hands, reducing it to a crushed shape made of metal.He tossed it behind him, then cleared his throat, the crowd quieting down as he began to speak.

“ Alright you frogs! I’m growing rather bored of fighting without any reward or challenge...so, why not put some money on the line? A cash reward!” 

He pulled a large stack of cash out of the back pocket of his pants, holding it up for all to see.

“ A hundred dollars of my own hard earned money, all to whoever can beat me for the first time!” 

Anne’s eyes widened as a collective gasp went through the crowd.

A thousand dollars.

A thousand.Frogging.Dollars.

That’d definitely be enough to support the farm till the crops got better...wouldn’t it? 

Anne wasn’t even thinking as she walked into the ring, staring into The Bonebreaker’s eyes with a dead serious stare.

“...Challenge Accepted.” 

Everyone went dead silent...then burst into laughter.

The Bonebreaker was holding his sides, eyes beading with tears as ground-shaking laughter erupted from his mouth. 

“ HAHAHA!!! DEAR FROG! AW, DEAR FROG! This is too good! A little waif like you, takin on me? How cute…” 

Anne was unphased.

She looked the frog in the eye, her eyes like blue flames. 

The Bonebreaker’s laughter soon died down, an amused smile still plastered on his face.

“ Well, since you're willing to humor me, and since you gave me a good laugh...I accept your challenge!” 

The crowd went silent.

The Bonebreaker laughed, smiling at them.

“Don’t worry! I’ll go easy on her!” He reassured them, squaring up and getting into his stance. 

Anne copied him, staring him in the eyes, trying to channel all the strength she had in her body. Willing herself to stand tall and let go of any fear she had of hurting another frog.All she thought about was the money she’d hopefully get, and Hop Pop’s sad, anxious eyes. 

She was going to win this.

She HAD to.

For Hop Pop.

For the frog that took her in and gave her a family.

For the frog who had loved her as his own.

Her eyes flashed blue, as if lightning had struck behind the lenses.

She charged at the frog, who prepared to give the girl a light push to the chest, or just simply block her attacks by putting his hand to her face and watching her squirm and flail around. 

She was, after all, just a tiny, skinny child. It wasn’t like she could do him even an ounce of harm-right?

The Bonebreaker soon found himself sorely mistaken as the girl ran right at him, then jumped and socked him right in the eye, with the strength of at least ten frogs. 

The surprised frog fell to the ground, one eye closed, the other wide open in shock. 

“ WHAT THE FROG HELL??” He yelled, the crowd gasping and yelling as the surprisingly strong human stepped back, then charged at the Bonebreaker once again, this time roundhouse kicking him in the face just as we was beginning to get his guard back up. The frog’s head was forced back, his good eye watching as the world turned upside down. Then he felt a hard punch to his upper stomach, gasping. Anne pulled back, the once unbeatable Bonebreaker holding his hands out. 

“STOP!STOP YOU WIN!YOU WIN!!” 

He pulled the wad of cash out of his back pocket, shoving it at Anne as he shook with shock and fear. 

Anne breathed for a few minutes, slowly regaining her senses, then, as she realized that she’d won the bet, her eyes widened, going from a bright, gas-flame blue to a softer, vibrant azure. 

“I WON!!I WON!!!I WON!!” She squealed, jumping up and down, 

She won!

She got the money!

The farm was saved! 

She snatched the cash from his hand, leaped out of the ring and ran right through the crowd of gobsmacked spectators, sprinting through the streets. 

Sprig and Ivy had spent the past half hour or so slinging gooey, decaying cricket eyes at poor, unsuspecting frogs, laughing as they watched their unfortunate targets yell and squirm as the eyeballs hit their marks, spraying their targets in a thick, dark, discolored and absolutely putrid smelling syrup. 

Just as he was beginning to load one last cricket eye into his slingshot, Sprig saw his human sibling dashing through the streets, a smile on her face, and a thick stack of green paper in her hand. 

“ ANNE!” 

He quickly hopped down from the roof, Ivy following, dropping the bag of the remaining cricket eyes and running behind him as he tried to catch up to Anne. 

“ANNE!...ANNE! ...What ...happened?!?” Sprig asked, trying to breathe and talk at the same time. 

Anne didn’t respond, giggling happily as she rushed to their house, barging in. 

“HOP POP!!HOP POP!!I DID IT!!HOP POP!!” the girl yelled, jumping up and down happily as Sprig and Ivy finally caught up to her, panting. 

“Anne what happened? How’d you get all the money???” Sprig asked again.

Anne gave no answer, she only scanned the area for Hop Pop, then bolted upstairs to see if he was still in his study.She ran into his study, the door slamming against the wall as the child threw it open, bounding in happily. 

The old frog, who had been asleep with Polly on his chest, was suddenly jolted awake by Anne wrapping her arms around him tightly, with enough strength to break his ribs, Polly yelping as her own nap was interrupted as well.

“Anne? Now what in Toadnation-” 

“HOP POP I DID IT!!” 

“ What? What do you mean-”

The girl shoved the cash in his face, jumping up and down as the old frog’s eyes widened.

“ HOLY SHIT GIRL! HOW THE HELL DID YA GET ALL THIS?” 

“ I won a wrestling match! I think that's what it was-” 

“ Wait WHAT??” 

“ There was this guy called The Bonebreaker, and he said that whoever beat him got a thousand dollars, and I beat him and got a thousand dollars!”

“ Wait THE BONEBREAKER?? Wait...Anne Plantar you tell me the truth! I ain't puttin’ up with any tall tales.”

“It is not a tall tale! I actually beat him!” 

“ Anne how-” 

There was a loud knock on the door, everyone in the room jumping.

Hop Pop glanced at Anne, then walked downstairs, opening the door to see the Bonebreaker himself, standing in front of the doorway, looking just a bit scared as he saw Anne standing on one of the stairs in the distance. 

“ Um...You...You are...Hoppediah Plantar?” He asked, voice a bit low. 

Hop Pop stared at him in utter disbelief.

“Uh...Yes….Uh…” 

“ I...um...came to say...that...that little creature ...I’m...impressed by how strong they are..I mean, they're small and skinny and yet they beat me damn near took me out… They certainly earned the prize money...I guess...I just wanted to...say...I’m, just blown away...that’s some creature you're raising, Plantar.” 

He gave the old frog an awkward pat on the shoulder, then left. 

Anne walked up behind Hop Pop, smiling wide. 

“NOW do you believe me?” She asked, the old frog staring down at her in disbelief.

“...By Frog...You..You..” 

He then pulled her into a tight, near-crushing hug, laughing with disbelief and amazement. 

“ BY FROG GIRL! HOW THE...THE..” The old timer was at a loss for words. 

“ Will the money be enough to help with the farm?” Sprig asked, holding the wad of cash, flipping through it, Ivy watching with wide eyes.

“ You bet it is! Plus I’ve been consulting some old books that my Great-Grandpop left behind about farmin’ techniques and such, and I think if I try a few f the things he has mentioned then our crops might get over whatever blight or disease they're goin’ through.”

Sprig and Ivy began jumping around, cheering happily, Sprig still clutching the money.

“THE FARM IS SAVED! THE FARM IS SAVED! THE FARM-” 

“ SPRIG FROG DAMNIT PUT THE MONEY DOWN BEFORE YA SCATTER IT EVERYWHERE AND LOSE IT ALL!” 

Hop Pop began chasing after him, trying to get the young frog to settle down and drop the cash. 

Anne watched, laughing, feeling an overwhelming sense of relief. 

She’d managed to help save her family from a potentially devastating time. She herself was still wondering just how she’d managed to summon up so much strength to beat the Bonebreaker, but right now that wasn’t important.

Her family was going to be okay.

That was all that mattered to her.

And you bet your ass she was going to make sure that they were always gonna be okay, no matter what came their way.


	13. Playing With Weapons

“ Holy shit!” 

Grime didn’t even bother to reprimand his now ten year old student and charge as he watched her walk into the large, slightly dilapidated wooden shack they used as a weapon storage space, her amethyst eyes wide and glowing with wonder as she finally saw every weapon that the toad army had in its possession. 

Axes, maces, swords with different blades, daggers, crossbows, spears, barbed whips, shields with images of water snakes, mantises and fearsome creatures of all sorts painted upon them, scythes,clubs...and- what caught her eye the most- The row of war masks that hung above where the axes were hung on the very back wall of the weapon storage house, their features contorted and sculpted into faces fierce with rage, a few even sporting toothy, sadistic smiles, as if to let their enemies and victims know that they would enjoy killing them with their own hands very, VERY much. 

“ Damn Grime, why don’t we bring these with us on raids? Im sure those stupid little frogs and salamanders would start obeying us and joining us!” 

Ever since Sasha had started joining Grime and Admiral Wormwood for battle planning and had introduced her plan for gaining more soldiers, the army had started implementing her plan whenever they went out on raids. So far, the frogs and salamanders had not accepted their offers- something they believed was due to their pride and stubbornness. Or stupidity perhaps, too stupid to realize the opportunity they were being offered. 

However, they had slowly started gaining new recruits- a frog and three salamanders, so far, all claiming that it was “ Only for the sakes of their families.” They just had to keep trying- be relentless and maybe just a bit forceful- till they got the soldiers they needed.

“Because, Little Fire Eyed creature, these weapons are not the type you take on mere raids and patrols...these are agents of war, reserved for battles, destined for bloodshed…”

He slowly picked up one of the swords that had been hanging on the wall- a large, heavy sword, it’s blade thick and shiny, as if it had just been cleaned.

“ This here...long ago, when I was maybe...six years older than you..back when I was a beginning Gladiator..”

“Gladiator?!”

Sasha snapped around,staring at him, eyes wide and full of curiosity.

”You never told me you were a Gladiator!!” 

Grime sighed, looking over at the bright-eyed girl. 

” Yes...a long time ago...back in Newtopia…” 

He looked at the sword in his hand, memories he’d tried to keep buried in the very back depths of his mind surfacing as his eyes met their reflection on the blade's surface.

”What was it like?” Sasha asked, inching closer to him. 

Grime looked at Sasha.

For as much as she’d seen, for as much as she’d been through, for as much as she’d done….She was still innocent.

She had yet to understand the true meaning of bloodshed and warfare - he doubted that she truly knew what it felt like to have to fight for your life and cast away any emotion and mercy you had just so you could live another day. 

He wasn't sure he wanted her to know. 

He sighed,sitting down, holding the sword in his hands,eyes fixated on it’s silvery blade.

Sasha sat in front of him, listening intently as he began to speak.

”......The toads have always been relatively poor compared to every other species in Amphibia. Even the frogs seem to have more money,land and standing than we. Go to any toad town or village-and all you’ll see is huts,slums and failing farms...At least, that’s what my village was like.” 

“ It was rough…hardly had enough to eat, constantly fighting with my siblings, and even my own parents at times, just for a decent scrap of food...when I was sixteen, I decided that, if I was to get a better future, one without poverty, or grief, or the constant fear of death...Then I was to leave my village and go to Newtopia…..there, I could find a somewhat decent job, one that could at least draw me out of the poverty and filth I’d been born and raised in...I packed what few things I had that could be of use to me, then woke up at dawn the next day and started walking.” 

He looked up at Sasha, who was still staring intensely at him as he recounted his tale. He looked back down at the sword, letting one hand slide across the cold, smooth, and slightly uneven blade.

“ It took me...About a month or two to get to Newtopia.I can’t really say for sure how long it took. I walked, hitchhiked, ended up stealing some old farmer’s snail towards the end...But then I was in Newtopia…” 

“The moment I set foot inside the city, I was looked upon as the lowest of the low. A filthy, poor, uneducated little toad...Wherever I went, I was met with stares and glares of disgust...and soon I found myself, along with my stolen snail, in the slums of Newtopia - The poor, run down part of the city, reserved for its outcasts, lepers and undesirables...including me.” 

“ I spent the next week searching for jobs- I sold the snail, got enough to rent a crummy low class hotel room, then spent the next few days looking for work...only to be turned down every time.They all said it was due to my lack of education, my status, my...lack of experience...but really it was because I was a toad. I saw a newt from the slums I lived in go into the shop that had just turned me down, and the very next day he was employed there...Toads just...were lower than dirt. “ 

“However...there was one place where I was welcome...the colosseum. For as strict as Newtopian society is about their ranks and classes, and what species is superior compared to the other...in the colosseum, all of that was just thrown out the window. It was in that big, round structure that every species of every class came together over one thing- to watch some poor bastard fight another poor bastard or fearsome beast that had been pulled from the forests or bogs and watch as they tore each other apart in a survival-fueled frenzy.” 

“ It was pure carnage, what went down in that thing...sickening, really...but thrilling! Every night I’d go to the colosseum and sit amongst my fellow slum dwellers, middle class commonfolk and some pompous nobles so that I could watch the endless carnage and violence unfold below. It was...amazing...and after a while, I noticed...The gladiators weren’t just newts...they were frogs, salamanders, axolotls...and toads.” 

“Yes, even toads, I was amazed. Amazed and…..inspired. I was quite the fighter back home, and I had some experience with daggers and switchblades in my youth….And Gladiators, the ones that won and kept winning, were treated like war heroes….. They had respect,fame, they lived in mansions and penthouses, had endless banquets of food….I’d heard that they took multiple lovers and possibly even got to have their own consorts, anyone they wanted...their rank was almost second to that of a noble or war veteran...I was completely infatuated by the idea of getting this kind of fame and wealth, of living a life my forefathers couldn’t have even fathomed their own grandchildren living…” 

“To make it even more enticing, the only qualifications you needed to get into the ring was that you needed to know how to fight...didn’t even have to be skilled...The moment I learned the qualifications were that low..I signed myself right the hell up...I was given a set of armor, a shield, a helmet...and this here sword.” 

He held up the blade, a small smile flashing across his mouth.

“...I ran into the ring the very next day, faced with a large mantis as my opponent...I took it down easily, the only injury I sustained was a deep cut on my arm. Then again...it was a beginner’s round. It was only a test to see just how far I could go……” 

“By the next day,I was back in the ring, faced with a barbariant. It was a long, tough fight…..Got slashed across the stomach and bled quite a lot…..but I won. It was that day that taught me that being a gladiator was not all fun and games. It wasn’t just killing beasts and lowly criminals and playing with weapons. It was a battle for your life, it was a battle for your reputation! Your way of life!” 

“ I started practicing every night after that…..started entering tougher battles……Started sustaining injuries……” 

He lifted a hand to his blind eye, sighing.

”.......I….went from a lucky little rookie fighter to being the unbeatable champion of the coliseum. I went from living in the filthy slums of lower Newtopia to getting a penthouse near where all the nobles and politicians lived…..I had every desire fulfilled, every need and want tended to…...people looked at me with awe and admiration, not disgust and hatred…..and all I had to do to keep it all was to go out and face death every day…..fighting criminals,volunteering civilians, beasts from all around the land…..I won every battle…..I had to….I needed to…..” 

He sighed, the memories flowing free in his mind like water from a broken dam.

”Then one day,after a violent battle that left me with a fractured skull and a broken arm,I was put on leave of my career for a while,considering my injuries…..and it was during this period that I was told that the King himself wished to speak with me. I was shocked….and suspicious. I wanted to know why exactly he wanted to see me.I was told that I’d see when I got there.When the King’s carriage arrived for me, I made sure to take my dagger with me, just in case I had to take on anyone.” 

“ When I got to the palace, the colossal king himself was at the entrance...a huge beast of a creature, he was...intimidating at first...but he quickly proved to be non-threatening. Seemed like he couldn’t stop smiling...it was irritating as all hell!” 

“ We went into the royal dining hall, and we dined for a bit...He kept asking me about what my life was like as a gladiator, and where I had come from...all questions about my past. I found it a bit suspicious, but I didn’t think of it too much. Then, as I finished telling him about my youth in my village, of the plights the toads faced, he suddenly grew… somewhat serious. He told me that I had impressed him and his colleagues greatly with my skills, and, considering I had proved to be a good fighter, he had decided to offer me a position...the position of commander of the toad army.” 

“ I was confused, there was no toad army! The Newtopian Army was the only official standing army in all of Amphibia. That’s when he proposed an idea: To relieve the toads of their plight, he would create a toad army, funded for and provided for by Newtopia. We would serve as both a back up army for the Newtopian Army, and we would be tasked with the collection of taxes from all over the land. The previous ways of letting the people of Amphibia pay taxes in their own time and having them delivered to Newtopia via snail drawn carts was...inconvenient, to say the least...So if the toads were willing to take on thew work in exchange for income and jobs, chances to be something other than quarry workers, miners, or poor farmers….then he was willing to go through with the idea.” 

“ It was then that I began to consider my fellow toads back home...and the possibilities that could arise. The toads could finally rise from the poverty that had stricken them for years, and we would have our own official militia...Which I would be commander of. I thought about it….then accepted the offer. No longer was I a gladiator...I was the commander of my own army…” 

“.....But then Andreas didn’t uphold his end of the deal...He just used you to increase his wealth and power….all of it was for him...not you…” Sasha said, her voice low and tinged with anger.

Grime sighed. He got up and set the sword back on it’s place on the wall.

“....Yes....” 

“....Don’t worry...We’ll make him and his rich little friends pay….some day…” Sasha said.

Grime had to say...he admired the child’s dedication to the army. 

At the same time, however...he had recently been rethinking her early training. 

She was a child, after all...perhaps getting her involved in bloodshed, war and battle was not the wisest decision…

“....Hey look, I’m you!” 

Grime turned. Sasha was holding up a sword, a shield in her other hand, staring him down with a smile on her face. 

He chuckled. “ So you are…..Little Fire Eyed Creature…” 

Sasha ran to the entrance of the weapon storage house. 

“ Grab a sword! We can start battle practice!” 

“ Not with those you’re not!” 

Grime ran after her, huffing a bit, smiling a bit.

She really was...innocent, really. Sure, she was a warrior, she knew what it was like to fight and battle and intimidate….but she still had that same childish innocence that he had once had, that given up so long ago.

He just hoped that she could keep it...just a little while longer.


	14. Don't Worry

It was 1 am, the sky pitch black and devoid of stars.

The castle was silent, every room so quiet that if you dropped a thumbtack on the floor it would sound as loud as an atom bomb going off.

Every room in the vast castle was completely dark and silent......except for Marcy’s.

The ten year old was under her bedsheets, the bright screen of her Nintendo was the only light source she had as she stared intently at the screen, tapping away and pressing the buttons as she finally got to the next level of her game, a triumphant smile making its way across her face.

She was just about to get into the next level when she heard yelling upstairs. She paused the game, raising an eyebrow as she got out from under her bedsheets. She couldn’t make out who it was-one voice sounded female and one male-but she thought she could make out a few words.

Bad decision, mistake,time, Marcy.....

Marcy felt her blood go cold.

Marcy? 

Were they talking about her?

Why? 

What had she done? 

She slowly got out of bed,going out of her room and slowly creeping down the hall, trying her best not to trip on anything as her eyes adjusted to the dark and the shadows.

She saw light emanating from a room on her left, and slowly made her way towards it, hiding behind the door. She saw King Andrias standing near a blazing fireplace, pinching his temple in frustration as Lady Olivia ranted to him, pacing around the floor.

”She's unfit in every way! She’s unbearably clumsy, completely oblivious! Her lack of social skill is almost laughable!-“ 

“She is a child! Children learn and develop-“ 

“You ALWAYS say that and yet she still has not improved!” 

“Her studies have improved!”

“Good academics do not always translate to good rulership!! She may be well learned in history and customs but that is only a FRACTION of what a ruler must know if they are to keep the kingdom stable!!”

“ Marcy WILL learn the other things she needs to learn,granted you teach her properly!” 

“I am! I AM TRYING your majesty really I am, but when it comes to social interactions, the ways of diplomacy,connecting with the people, heading royal meetings and discussing plans, public speaking.....she just FAILS MISERABLY! Can you imagine putting the whole of Amphibia in her hands?!? She’d destroy everything you’ve worked for! Undo everything you’ve done for our land!!”

Andrias sighed agitatedly, pinching his temple harder.

”...Can’t you find someone else? Someone more suitable?!? Go to the universities, maybe even the common people could produce a young newt or frog, maybe if anything else a toad worthy of the throne-“ 

“No. Marcy will be my heir. She is slowly but surely learning royal protocol and duties, she’s getting prepared for her position......if we brought in someone else it’d send everything into disarray!”

“Well not that much!” 

“Yes that much! We’ve spent four years schooling that girl and we can NOT just throw it all away! All that time,effort.....and what about the girl? What would we do with her?” 

“Send her back to her world,where she belongs!” 

“We don’t know how to send her back!We've been unable to find the magic box she’d told us about, and as far as I know, she’s the only living human to ever come here, and unless we find a way to get her back safely......then.......she stays here.” 

“What about her family? Did the girl not mention she had parents?” 

Marcy felt her heart twist.

Her parents.

Shed almost forgotten about them.

She remembered her last times with them - their arguments, the sudden split, her father drinking and her mother becoming distant......she wondered if they missed her.

If they even noticed she’d gone missing.

Maybe they hadn’t.

Maybe they were happier without her.

Maybe they’d even gotten back together and were happy now without her in the way of everything.

Maybe.......maybe she was just a burden to everyone.

Everyone on her world and in this one.

She sank down, her back to the door as she heard more of King Andrias and Lady Olivia’s conversation.

``Well,I......I don’t know about them, but you’d think if they actually cared for her they’d have watched over her more carefully!”

“Oh for Frogs sake! Do you honestly think that raising a child is that black and white?!? You can’t always watch over them, they need to learn for themselves and you need to be there for them when they need it! Something YOU haven’t been doing sir!” 

“...Excuse me?!?” 

He raised his voice, Marcy cowering behind the door. 

He seemed so scary now.....

”You hardly spend an ounce of time with the child every day! Always tending to your royal duties or out galavanting about in town or shutting yourself up in the basement to play games with some of your friends while expecting her to learn everything from me!! YOU ARE the king, and she’s your chosen successor! You should be showing her everything she needs to know! Not me!!” 

Andrias looked away.

”...This conversation ends now.” 

“King Andrias-“ 

“NOW!”

He slammed his fist down on a table,the whole thing smashing into smithereens as soon as his fist collided with it.  
Marcy shrunk into herself, clapping a hand to her mouth so she wouldn’t scream.

Lady Olivia jumped back, terror flashing in her eyes, then slowly regaining her composure,her eyes cold.

”As.you.wish.”

She then left, briskly walking down the halls, not noticing Marcy.

Andrias took a few moments to breathe,calming down, then heard small, scared sounds coming from behind the door. He slowly walked over, moving the door to reveal a shivering,whimpering Marcy.

”Marcy?” He asked,surprised,wondering how long she’d been there.

Marcy jumped, her breathing speeding up along with her heartbeat.

”Uh-uh-UHUH-“ 

She couldn’t speak.She was terrified.

What if he got angry at her? What if he hurt her? He was big enough that all he had to do was grab her head between two fingers and twist till her neck broke like a toothpick.

”Now just how long have you been here?!” He asked,kneeling down. 

Marcy immediately scooted father away, backing herself into the wall,tears in her eyes. Andrias slowly moved his hand towards her, palm open.

”Child, what ever is the matter?” 

He sounded concerned, gentle.......But Marcy was still scared.

Andrias slowly reached out,Marcy yelping and hugging her knees to her chest and hiding her face in her knees. 

Was he going to hurt her?!? 

She felt the pad of his index finger gently brush the top of her head, slowly stroking her hair.

”Marcy?” 

He didn’t sound angry, or threatening. Marcy looked up, her entire body still shaking. She slowly got up, her knees giving way as soon as she did, King Andrias catching her. Marcy grabbed hold of his hand, slowly moving into his hand and sitting down, head resting in her knees as he got up, carrying her back to her room.

”...How much of that conversation did you hear?” 

Marcy shuddered.”......None of it....” 

He raised an eyebrow.

”Marcy, you need to be honest.” 

“.......Lady Olivia saying that I shouldn’t be your successor....”

“Hm,I see....Don’t....worry about her......I’ll deal with her......she just needs a little more faith in you is all....I have faith in you,you know.” 

He smiled at her.She nodded, still quivering as he set her down on her bed, Marcy immediately going back under the covers,hoping to quell the shivers. She hugged her caterpillar close as Andrias sat down next to her bed,sighing.

”I’m sorry you had to hear all of that nonsense.....Just don’t worry about it,I’ll make sure that everything will be alright,I promise .” 

He patted her head with his finger, then got up and left, leaving Marcy alone in the darkness of her room.

Marcy sighed, sniffling and holding back tears of fear and bitterness.

Another promise......another promise of a long list of promises that had yet to be fulfilled.

”Don’t make promises when you can’t keep them.....” she mumbled softly, hugging her caterpillar close and going under the sheets, welcoming the darkness and warmth as she closed her eyes and hoped for sleep to come and take her soon.


End file.
